Wagner’s mercenaries, now concentrated in Africa, can be a significant autonomous force. And the Kremlin is afraid of her.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) claim that the Russian Ministry of Defense has disrupted the rotation of Wagner Group forces from Africa. This comes amid reports of ongoing efforts to block mercenary operations in Syria. Some details of this incident have become known.
This was reported by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
ISW experts analyzed a report by a Kremlin-linked military blogger who spoke about the blocking of Wagner’s forces from Africa through the Khmeimim airbase by the rotation. The mercenaries were forced to negotiate with the Syrian Ministry of Defense to allow them to use the Tiyas airbase in the province of Homs. At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry used vehicles on the runway to prevent the Wagner aircraft from landing at the Tiyas air base on September 12.
After that, the Russians used helicopters, threatening to shoot down the Wagner plane.
In this regard, Wagner’s management came into direct contact with the Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, who eventually allowed the plane to land. However, it is unclear on what terms.
Analysts note that Russia is concerned about the independence of the Syrian Wagnerian contingent. And the fact that they are holding direct talks with the Russian defense ministry shows that Wagner retains a fairly cohesive leadership and is a force that the Kremlin still needs to take into account.
As a reminder, a passenger plane crashed in the Tver region of Russia on August 23. According to information provided by the Russian aviation authority, Yevgeny Prygozhin, the leader of the private military company Wagner, was on board.
