{"id":103238,"date":"2024-02-28T21:47:28","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estaql.com\/russian-forces-expand-base-in-mali-after-death-of-wagner-group-leader-yevgeny-prigozhin-world-news\/"},"modified":"2024-02-28T21:47:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:47:28","slug":"russian-forces-expand-base-in-mali-after-death-of-wagner-group-leader-yevgeny-prigozhin-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/russian-forces-expand-base-in-mali-after-death-of-wagner-group-leader-yevgeny-prigozhin-world-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian forces expand base in Mali after death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Russian forces expand base in Mali after death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin | World News<\/h2>\n

Russian forces expand base in Mali after death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin | World News<\/p>\n

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New satellite imagery reveals construction work at a former Wagner Group base at Modibo Keita International Airport in Mali. <\/p>\n

High-resolution imagery obtained by Sky News offers the first detailed picture of this site since the death of the Wagner Group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin<\/strong>, in August 2023.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Map of Russian deployments in the region
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Since then, the organisation has been taken in-house, with its functions absorbed by the Russian Defence Ministry.<\/p>\n

The remnants of the Wagner Group are now reportedly being operated as Russia’s “Expeditionary Corps”.<\/p>\n

When he died, Prigozhin’s death prompted speculation concerning the future of Russian influence and military presence in Africa.<\/p>\n

For years, the Wagner Group played a key role in supporting aligned regimes across the continent, while profiting from arrangements such as mining and logging concessions.<\/p>\n

Construction at former Wagner base<\/strong><\/p>\n

Captured by Maxar on 26 February, the satellite imagery obtained by Sky News suggests the Russian state remains committed to the development of its presence in Mali.<\/p>\n

It shows construction at the site of Wagner’s former base at Modibo Keita International Airport, Mali’s main airport located approximately 15km from the capital Bamako.<\/p>\n

In recent months, new buildings and roads appear to have been completed, a large area of ground has been cleared, and excavations have begun in two areas.<\/p>\n

Reviewing the imagery, defence intelligence agency Janes stated that two of the larger new features resemble a possible new administrative building and revetted storage area.<\/p>\n

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\n Image:<\/span>
\n Pic: Maxar Technologies
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In addition to showing the progress of construction at this site, the imagery suggests it is significantly more active than it has appeared in the past.<\/p>\n

Over 40 vehicles of varying sizes are present, compared with a handful in July.<\/p>\n

Russian activity in the region<\/strong><\/p>\n

Expansion and increased activity at this site suggest Prigozhin’s death<\/strong> and the subsequent reorganisation of the Wagner Group’s operations have not dulled the Russian government’s interest in maintaining a presence in Mali and the wider region.<\/p>\n

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\n Image:<\/span>
\n Advert recruiting Russian African Corps
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In recent months, recruitment advertisements for Russia’s Africa Corps have circulated on Telegram, touting “high payments, free medical care”, and “service under the leadership of competent commanders”.<\/p>\n

The country now enjoys positive relations with numerous regimes across the Sahel region, where it has sought to exploit areas of declining Western influence.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n An undated photo provided by the French military shows three Russian mercenaries in northern Mali. Pic: AP
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

—–<\/p>\n

The <\/em>Data and Forensics<\/strong><\/em> team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open-source information. Through multimedia storytelling, we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Russian forces expand base in Mali after death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin | World News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russian forces expand base in Mali after death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin | World News Russian forces expand base in Mali after death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin | World News New satellite imagery reveals construction work at a former Wagner Group base at Modibo Keita International Airport in Mali. High-resolution imagery […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7711],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7711"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}