The 35th summit of the African Union (AU) ends this Sunday evening February 6 in Addis Ababa. In addition to the recent coups in West Africa or the civil war in Ethiopia, another hot topic was invited to the event: the massive arrival of mercenaries on the African continent. In Mali, the leaders continue to deny the presence of the Russian group Wagner. But the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the AU, Bankole Adeoye recalled the danger of these groups.
From our correspondent in Addis Ababa,
For several years, Russia has advanced its pawns on the African continent through the mercenaries of the Wagner company. Their arrival in Mali at the end of January 2021 raised questions about the true influence and effectiveness of these irregular troops. The African Union, which was organizing its summit on February 5 and 6 in Addis Ababa, briefly condemned ” the emergence of this new phenomenon “.
During this summit, marked by unanimous condemnation of the wave of coups in West Africa, the question of the intervention of foreign paramilitaries was raised by the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and security, Bankole Adeoye. During his address, the Nigerian called for a joint effort to “ completely exclude mercenaries from our continent “. For this, he wants the cooperation of the UN Security Council and the European Union.
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1977 Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa
” From the Mozambican region of Cabo Delgado to Libya, we face the emergence of a new phenomenon, the presence of private military contractors from abroad and mercenaries “, did he declare. The Russian paramilitaries of the Wagner company, owned by Evgueni Prigojine, a close associate of the Kremlin, are today also present in the Central African Republic, in Sudan, and recently in Mali. Bamako would pay them 10 million dollars a month, according to the American army.
In his plea for African multilateralism, Bankole Adeoye referred to the Convention on the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa, a text adopted in Libreville in 1977 by the AU. ” It’s time to dust off this text, to use it in a concrete way “, he added. The subject could be discussed in May in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, when the African Union will meet for an extraordinary summit on the fight against terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government. ” We expect strong leadership from member countries to strengthen our common response to these existential threats. “, concluded Bankole Adeoye.
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