Russian paramilitary forces deployed in Mali have achieved only modest battlefield successes while facing persistent allegations of atrocities, according to an investigative journalist tracking their operations across Africa.
Philip Obaji, Nigerian journalist and Daily Beast correspondent, said in a recent interview that Moscow-backed forces have made few meaningful gains in northern Mali, where they replaced French troops years ago.
“They haven’t had too many gains in northern Mali,” Obaji said. Looking back at previous engagements, he noted that over 80 Russian fighters were killed in an attack involving JNIM, an al-Qaeda-backed militant group, and Wagner paramilitaries.
“We haven’t seen so much of impact since the Russians came into the north of Mali replacing French forces,” Obaji said. “Obviously what we have seen is numerous reports of atrocities, abuses, and even massacres across Mali. But in terms of gaining full control of very important towns and communities, we haven’t seen too much gains.”
Obaji’s investigation into Russian paramilitary activities began in 2018, after three Russian journalists traveled to the Central African Republic to report on Wagner mercenaries and were killed. His late editor, Christopher Dickey, asked him to look into what the journalists had been working on before their deaths.
That initial inquiry led to years of reporting on human rights abuses and disinformation spread by Russian operatives, first in the Central African Republic and later in Mali.
Obaji described a close call in 2023, when he traveled to the northwestern Central African Republic near the Cameroonian border to investigate the future of the Wagner group following the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin. During that trip, he said four Central African soldiers rushed him, using batons and whips, while two Russian paramilitaries ordered the soldiers to manhandle him.
The journalist said he has spoken with dozens of witnesses who described Russian mercenaries attacking communities, raping men and women, torturing young people, and detaining elderly individuals.
Obaji identified the most disturbing stories from his last trip to the Central African Republic, in the town of Bouar. Dozens of girls were arrested, detained in a military facility, and systematically raped, he said. Some were administered contraceptives after the rapes, and those who became pregnant had their fetuses aborted by Russian paramilitaries.
“Every story I’ve heard, whether it’s in the Central African Republic or in Mali, have been very difficult to listen to and they’ve been very emotional even for me,” Obaji said.