Russia says plan to boost role in Africa includes 'sensitive' security ties
FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and President of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia Badra Gunba in the Grand Palace at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 10, 2025. Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia plans to step up cooperation with African countries, including in "sensitive areas" such as defence and security, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Russian mercenary group Wagner said last week it was leaving Mali after helping the military junta there in its fight with Islamist militants. But the Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force, said it would remain in the west African country.
Asked what this meant for Russia's role in Africa, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The Russian presence in Africa is growing. We really intend to comprehensively develop our interaction with African countries, focusing primarily on economic and investment interaction.
"This also corresponds to and extends to such sensitive areas as defence and security. In this regard, Russia will also continue interaction and cooperation with African states."
Russia's growing security role in parts of the continent, including in countries such as Mali, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, is viewed with concern by the West, and has come at the expense of France and the United States.
Russia's Africa Corps was created with the Russian Defence Ministry's support after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and commander Dmitry Utkin led a failed mutiny against the Russian army leadership in June 2023 and were killed two months later in a plane crash.
About 70-80% of the Africa Corps is made up of former Wagner members, according to several Telegram chats used by Russian mercenaries seen by Reuters.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Guy Faulconbridge)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Ghana hosts forum on China-Africa cooperation in EV manufacturing
ACCRA, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The 2025 China-Africa Automotive Development Forum was held Tuesday in Ghana to discuss opportunities for China-Africa cooperation in electric vehicle (EV) production. The forum, co-hosted by the Confucius Institute of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Hubei University of Automotive Technology, took place in Kumasi, the West African country's second-largest city. Themed "Intelligent Manufacturing of Lightweight EVs," the forum brought together experts, policymakers, investors, and engineers from China and African countries to discuss the necessity and feasibility of EV development in Africa's automotive industry in the future. Li Yang, minister-counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Ghana, said Africa always remains a priority in China's overall diplomatic strategy, as it is an emerging continent that drives global economic growth. "Regardless of changes in the international landscape, China's commitment to Africa remains unwavering, and China's dedication to jointly advancing industrialization with Ghana remains persistent," Li said. Seth Mahu, director in charge of renewable energy at the Ghanaian Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, said in a statement that Ghana has laid the groundwork for the manufacture of EVs with policy support. "Partnership with China through technology transfer, joint ventures, and training can accelerate our progress exponentially. This forum must be a bridge between Ghana and China to share ideas on implementation, ambition, and achievement," Mahu added.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Austrians endure shock, horror after gunman kills 10 at school
People light candles in the main square following a deadly school shooting in Graz, Austria, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Borut Zivulovic GRAZ, Austria (Reuters) -Austrians were dumbfounded by grief and horror after a 21-year-old gunman killed 10 people in a high school shooting spree on Tuesday morning, unleashing a new kind of violence to the Alpine country unaccustomed to such slayings. Parents of pupils, top government officials and local residents in the southern city of Graz were lost for words after the young man, who has not been named, opened fire at the school where he had recently been a pupil. "Terrible. There's nothing else to make of it, is there?" said Monika Leiner, a 55-year-old IT consultant who lives near the school. "I'm a bit older, and I've seen quite a few things but I can't remember (a shooting with) so many deaths." Police have given no motive for the killings though Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung said officers found a farewell letter during a search of the suspect's home. Authorities said the man did not graduate from the school and Austrian media published unconfirmed reports he had suffered from bullying. Hundreds of police rushed to the scene after shots rang out at around 10 a.m. Shortly afterwards the perpetrator was dead, having shot himself in a toilet, authorities said. The killings were the worst Austrian school shooting on record. The government declared three days of national mourning and political parties cancelled upcoming events. In the afternoon, people arrived to leave flowers and candles by the school. President Alexander Van der Bellen said it was hard to express what the country was feeling. "This horror cannot be put into words," he said. Long queues also formed outside a blood donation centre in Graz. "Today is a hard day for all of us in Graz. I'm here to (donate) my blood to help other people who need it," 25-year-old Stephanie Koenig told Reuters. Police cordoned off the school and few parents of pupils there have so far made their feelings public. The mother of one pupil told state broadcaster ORF that her son had called her during the shooting. "It's impossible to grasp," said the woman, who was not named by the broadcaster. "I was just happy that he was on the phone and that I could hear him. But now I keep thinking about how others are doing." "He just told me that he had to run out and that he'd hidden in the garden. Everything else is too much for me now, including everything else he said," she added. Nola, a 21-year-old student and local resident, told Reuters a friend of one of her friends was among the victims. "A friend of mine goes to that school. She found out that a friend of hers died," she said. "She called me immediately afterwards in tears and said 'Hannah is dead! Hannah is dead!' and her parents were also beside themselves." (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Additional reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich and Paul Arnold; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
US Justice Department 'weaponization' reviews spark calls to drop prosecutions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -As the federal public corruption prosecution of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada neared trial this spring, his lawyers made one last effort to kill the case, by petitioning senior Justice Department officials that it was "weaponization," according to three people familiar with the matter. Under President Donald Trump, the department in February created a "Weaponization Working Group" meant to identify improper politically motivated cases, a response to what the Republican says without evidence was the misuse of prosecutorial resources against him under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden. In court filings, prosecutors said that Casada's lawyers met with a senior Justice Department official on March 24, where they alleged the "Deep State" had initiated a "weaponized" prosecution and they sought dismissal of the charges. The plan almost worked, according to three people familiar with the matter. With the Deputy Attorney General's office poised to kill the case, prosecutors in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section pushed back, reviewing their evidence with the higher-ups, the sources said, adding that the Nashville U.S. Attorney's office and the Criminal Division also supported the case. The request was rejected the next week, according to court filings. Both Casada and the DOJ declined to comment. The case is among at least seven Reuters identified where defense attorneys or Justice Department officials have sought to have prosecutions reviewed for possible dismissal, citing Trump's "weaponization" argument or making other arguments about weaknesses in the cases. In a Tuesday speech, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti urged defense attorneys to be "conscientious about what, when and how" they appeal prosecutors' decisions. "Seeking premature relief, mischaracterizing prosecutorial conduct, or otherwise failing to be an honest broker actively undermines our system," Galeotti said. The increase in lobbying started not long after the Weaponization Working Group was created, and after the department's February decision to dismiss criminal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, six sources familiar with the dynamic told Reuters. To date, the Adams case is the only one to be dismissed over 'weaponization,' three of those sources told Reuters. The lobbying wave comes as the Trump administration has dramatically scaled back the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, reduced the size of its foreign bribery unit and advised department attorneys that tax enforcement is "not a priority," two of the people familiar with the matter said. A department spokesman said the DOJ will "continue to enforce our nation's tax laws." Trump has said the changes are necessary to root out Justice Department lawyers he derides as 'hacks and radicals' for prosecuting him and some supporters while he was out of power. NEW GROUP HAS BROAD REMIT The working group is empowered to review any 'civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States' exercised under Biden. A lawyer for Robert Burke, a former Navy admiral who was convicted in May on bribery charges, wrote to the department ahead of trial raising concerns about witness credibility, which failed to convince prosecutors to drop the case. Now the lawyer, Tim Parlatore -- a former Trump defense lawyer -- plans to seek a pardon. "I would be crazy not to at least inquire about a pardon," Parlatore said. Another example is a case involving billionaire Britannia Financial Group founder Julio Martín Herrera-Velutini, who is facing an August trial alongside Puerto Rico's former governor on bribery charges. Herrera-Velutini is represented by former Trump defense attorney Chris Kise, who has sought to convince the Justice Department to dismiss or reduce the charges, though the outcome of such efforts is unclear, three people familiar with the case told Reuters. Kise did not return requests for comment, and Reuters could not determine what arguments he has made to the department about the case. WEAPONIZATION REVIEW While many of the reviews of cases are spurred by aggressive lobbying, some requests are coming from within the DOJ. In early February, prosecutors in the department's Tax Division were ordered by senior Justice Department officials to write a memo explaining why the prosecution of Paul Walczak was not an example of "weaponization," two of the people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Walczak, of Florida, pleaded guilty in November to not paying employment taxes and not filing his individual income tax returns, and the trial team was preparing for his sentencing. Prosecutors were baffled, the people said, and only discovered after a few Google searches that Walczak's mother Elizabeth Fago was a Trump donor who, according to a New York Times report, hosted a political fundraiser where portions of a diary written by Biden's daughter Ashley were circulated. The department let the case proceed, and Walczak was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Trump in April spared him any prison with a pardon, which according to the New York Times, was handed down shortly after Fago attended a $1 million fundraising dinner for Trump. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the pardon. An attorney for Walczak said he was unaware of any interactions by the defense team with the Weaponization Working Group. In a statement, the Fago and Walczak families said media reports have painted an "incomplete and inaccurate" picture of the pardon application, and that Trump had "ample grounds to grant the pardon on the merits." Although no criminal prosecutions have been dismissed, prosecutors are bracing for impact since Trump in May named Ed Martin, a supporter of Trump's false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of fraud, to lead the working group and serve as pardon attorney. Martin has already successfully encouraged Trump to approve pardons for some of the president's supporters, according to his social media posts. Casada, who was convicted at trial in May on multiple counts of fraud, money laundering and bribery, is now expected to seek a pardon, a person familiar with the matter said. "We've also been getting more folks coming forward within the government as well as outside, saying, 'Can you look at this? Can you look at that?'" Martin recently told reporters. "It's a problem that seems to be growing faster than we can capture it." (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Peter Eisler in Washington and Ned Parker in New York, additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)
