Competition for influence rages at the heart of Wagner’s operations in Africa

In better times, the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, appeared at a Russian cultural center in the capital of the Central African Republic, where he sat with schoolchildren and promised them free laptops.

But mr. Prigozhin’s death in August has disrupted the mercenary group’s once cozy relations with the Central African Republic, which is now weighing offers from Russia and Western countries, including the United States, to replace Wagner as its main security guarantor.

The outcome of this battle could be a bellwether for the group’s future on the continent, where the Central African Republic is perhaps the most entangled among the handful of African countries working with Wagner.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has done that tried to absorb some of Wagner’s activities, while retaining his influence and preserving its wealth of knowledge across the continent. But a senior Western diplomat said the uncertainty surrounding Wagner in the Central African Republic presented an “opportunity” for the United States and France to counter Russian influence.

The Biden administration has offered security assistance in exchange for easing Wagner, said three Central African officials briefed on the discussions. Recently, representatives of the U.S. private security firm Bancroft met with Central African officials in the country’s capital, a person familiar with the meeting confirmed.

Fidèle Gouandjika, the security adviser to the country’s President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, said his government had until next month to tell US officials whether it was willing to work with them.

A State Department spokesperson said in a statement that the United States was encouraging Central African officials to “gain their independence from the Wagner Group,” but declined to comment further. The National Security Council did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr Touadéra has also held talks with President Emmanuel Macron of France, the former colonial power whose involvement in the Central African Republic has declined in recent years. French and Central African officials are now working on a roadmap for renewed cooperation in civil matters.

However, it remains unclear whether Western countries can provide the same level of security as the mercenary group and whether hard-pressed Central African officials will dare to confront rebel groups and other security threats without Wagner’s familiar embrace. France, which is reducing its security presence in its former colonies amid growing hostility over its continued influence, has made it clear it will not contribute troops.

For years, the Wagner Group has protected the leadership of the Central African Republic with heavy-handed security enforcement, weapons and propaganda campaigns. In return, the country has been granted lucrative mining concessions for gold, diamonds and timber, while also committing blatant human rights abuses against civilians and clashing with rebel groups.

But from interviews with more than a dozen officials and diplomats, as well as analysts and human rights defenders, over several weeks, a new story seems to be emerging. Wagner, many say, has been a difficult partner that many officials would like to get rid of.

“They sold us a win-win partnership, but that relationship didn’t yield much for us,” one of the Central African government officials said of Wagner, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss relations with the group.

Vladislav Ilin, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in the capital Bangui, said Russia was “determined to return to the African continent” and continue its security partnership with the Central African Republic.

When asked what The death of Mr. Prigozhin intended for Russian involvement in Africa, Mr. Ilin said: “No change.”

Some experts agree with this assessment and doubt whether Mr Touadéra would dare to throw overboard the certainty that Wagner offers.

“Touadéra is like a disabled man walking with a stick, and that stick is Wagner,” said Sergei Eledinov, a retired Russian military officer and independent analyst on security issues in Africa.

At the same time, he added: “Russia does not know how to do business in Africa. Wagner does.”

Russian military instructors were first invited to the Central African Republic in 2017 as the poorly trained and underfunded army struggled to contain rebel groups that had waged an insurgency since 2012.

It was a quick solution for both sides: Russia saw an opening to regain its influence on a continent where it had lost power since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Central African government could enjoy the support of a major power without meeting the human rights and transparency standards demanded by Western partners. Even as his hold in the Central African Republic has seemingly weakened, Wagner remains an important presence. As the shadowy battle over the future plays out, more than a thousand Wagner mercenaries and some of the group’s top operatives remain in the country.

They still control the largest gold mine in the Central African Republic, and the Russians still accompany Mr. Touadéra as he moves through the country.

National soldiers trained by Russian instructors and wearing the Wagner skull logo on their uniforms still guard government buildings and patrol near the president.

And in Bangui, senior local Wagner figures dine at the same restaurants favored by Western diplomats and United Nations officials. They have even been spotted at private parties organized by humanitarian organizations.

They have trained local priests to join the Russian Orthodox Church and financed a radio station, Radio Lengo Songo, which editor-in-chief Frédéric Krock described in an interview as “under the influence” of “our Russian partners.”

Through a company under U.S. Treasury Department sanctions, Wagner agents also make beer, vodka and flavored liquors that Central Africans sip in bars and parks as the sun sets over Bangui in the late afternoon.

“Wagner or not, it feels like the Russians are still in control,” said Abdoulaye Ibrahim, a former Wagner associate involved in the group’s propaganda operations.

With such a web of connections to Wagner, many Central Africans have difficulty imagining a separation from the group. “The Wagners,” people say, have turned their soldiers into a professional army. They saved Bangui from the rebels and brought order to remote areas of the country.

“The West wants us to get rid of Wagner, but without them we will have problems within 48 hours,” said Robert Ngoki, the president of the country’s Chamber of Commerce. “Whether we like it or not, they are the ones who keep the hinterland safe.”

But many others say the group’s harsh tactics, including rape, torture and other human rights abuses, as well as economic exploitation, have soured the relationship.

The main road connecting Bangui to neighboring Cameroon winds through lush plains and dense forests and past scattered villages. Sometimes an unmarked vehicle appears on the horizon escorting trucks to the capital.

These are Wagner convoys, securing the lifeline of one of the poorest countries in the world, often helping themselves to whatever they want along the way. At the side of the road, where traders sell snacks and gasoline in Russian beer bottles, Russian drivers often stop to grab a can of soda, a piece of bushmeat or chicken – without paying.

In Yaloké, a small mining town, residents say armed, masked white men have looted motorcycles, animals and gold. When Russian-speaking men stole two goats in 2021, they told their owner, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Jean-Puissance: “It’s on Touadéra’s account,” he said, referring to the Central African president .

‘They are bandits. They loot and leave,” he added. “And they come back.”

They also use abuse and torture as a routine part of their law enforcement efforts, Central Africans and rights groups say.

When a street vendor was arrested in the western town of Bouar in March after an acquaintance accused him of stealing a liter of petrol, he was taken to a Russian camp at the entrance to the town.

Hours later, the seller, Guy Moket, was dropped off at the local police station in such a critical condition that he was immediately transported to a clinic. He died the same day with wounds to his legs, a swollen pelvis and marks from blows to his chest, according to four relatives who met Mr. Saw Moket in his last hours.

Mr Moket’s death fits into a pattern of abuse by Wagner mercenaries documented by the United Nations And research organizations including torture, arbitrary killings and sexual violence. Local population groups, religious leaders and representatives of civil society are increasingly speaking out.

“We know about their practices, we know about the women and girls they take in their trucks,” said Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the archbishop of Bangui. “They are not angels, and they behave cruelly,” he said, but added: “They are still a lesser evil” than the rebel groups that controlled large parts of the Central African Republic for years.

According to multiple reports, Russian instructors have also trained hundreds of Central African soldiers and self-defense groups in torture methods.

Three Central African soldiers trained by Wagner confirmed the lessons in torture. One of them, who gave only his first name for security reasons, Ahmadou, said Wagner’s instructors had them practice techniques such as nail pulling, sleep deprivation and electric shocks to the genitals on real prisoners.

Perhaps Wagner recognizes the growing resentment and has recently taken steps to soften his image. The Russian Cultural Center in Bangui, known as the Russian House and run by a senior employee of the Wagner Group, offers knitting and language classes, wedding ceremonies and free snacks. There is even an inflatable pool for children, for which Mr. Prigozhin promised clean water on his last visit to Bangui.

The center’s manager, Anfissa Kiryanova, a friendly woman in her mid-thirties, has emerged as one of the group’s new public faces. She said in an interview that she was sad about Mr. Prigozhin’s death and that “we will see what changes over time.”

But one thing remains certain. “Our boss,” she said, meaning Russian leader Vladimir V. Putin, “remains the president.”

Erik Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington.