Why It Matters
A Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe hearing scheduled for Thursday, July 31 comes as the U.S. government faces mounting evidence of Russian exploitation on the continent, from military basing deals to human trafficking networks that have ensnared thousands of recruits.
Russia’s Expanding Presence
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov visited Niger on July 8–9, attending a high-level meeting with foreign ministers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
More troubling is the military dimension. Sudan offered Russia a 25-year military basing agreement allowing up to 300 soldiers and four warships at Port Sudan on the Red Sea in exchange for weapons, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
Simultaneously, remnants of the Wagner Group in the Central African Republic have built a drug empire based on the opioid tramadol, operating beyond the reach of law enforcement or the Russian government. Up to 500 members of an independent Wagner faction remain active in the Central African Republic, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.
Recruitment and Trafficking
The human cost is mounting. An estimated 1,800 African men—including 272 Ghanaians and over 1,000 Kenyans—reportedly signed contracts with Russia under false pretenses, according to the Foreign Policy Research Institute. And a Kenyan court charged the director of a recruitment agency with human trafficking in connection with the recruitment of over 1,000 Kenyans, according to the Centre for International Security & Economic Strategy.
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