wagner group on the make/on the take?

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Harrow, Kenneth

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Jan 31, 2022, 7:02:33 AM1/31/22
to usaafric...@googlegroups.com

French FM accuses Russian mercenaries of ‘despoiling’ Mali. Le Drian says Russian company Wagner is exploiting the country’s resources in exchange for protecting the military government.


kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

Harrow, Kenneth

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Jan 31, 2022, 5:18:44 PM1/31/22
to Emeagwali, Gloria (History), usaafric...@googlegroups.com
the russians, esp the wagner group, seem like the bottom of the barrel. lots of criticism for the french, but the russians in africa, the wagner group, are despicable.
true mercenaries, like those creeps from s africa.
that's my impression.
ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu


From: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emea...@ccsu.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2022 11:58 AM
To: Harrow, Kenneth <har...@msu.edu>; USAAfric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: wagner group on the make/on the take?
 
Mali has given France 72 hours to get
out of the country according to my sources.
This is unconfirmed.

The French have have been enriching themselves 
with Malian gold, why do they envy the Russians?
Live and let live said some sage.🤓

Well all allegations have to be confirmed so
take them with grains of salt and sugar.


Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Harrow, Kenneth <har...@msu.edu>
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2022 9:44 PM
To: USAAfric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - wagner group on the make/on the take?
 

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Emeagwali, Gloria (History)

unread,
Jan 31, 2022, 5:18:44 PM1/31/22
to Harrow, Kenneth, usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Mali has given France 72 hours to get
out of the country according to my sources.
This is unconfirmed.

The French have have been enriching themselves 
with Malian gold, why do they envy the Russians?
Live and let live said some sage.🤓

Well all allegations have to be confirmed so
take them with grains of salt and sugar.


Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Harrow, Kenneth <har...@msu.edu>
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2022 9:44 PM
To: USAAfric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - wagner group on the make/on the take?
 

Please be cautious: **External Email**

Harrow, Kenneth

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Jan 31, 2022, 5:18:54 PM1/31/22
to Emeagwali, Gloria (History), usaafric...@googlegroups.com
gloria, are you talking about the al jazeera report?
it says the french ambassador has 24 hours to get out of town, not france. the french soldiers are still there, i think.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had said that Mali’s military gov’t was ‘out of control’ and illegitimate.

ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

From: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emea...@ccsu.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2022 11:58 AM
To: Harrow, Kenneth <har...@msu.edu>; USAAfric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: wagner group on the make/on the take?
 

Emeagwali, Gloria (History)

unread,
Jan 31, 2022, 7:57:22 PM1/31/22
to Harrow, Kenneth, usaafric...@googlegroups.com
I don't know enough to pass judgement on Wagner  at this point. I believe
they helped to dislodge the terrorists in Central Africa. They are
like Dyn Corp, Vinnell Corp, Aegis, Advanfort,  Akegroup,  Academi and a host of other
similar groups  that work with the US military and  US government.
For example, Academi (formerly Blackwater) works with the CIA and the
US military. 

We'll see how successful they are a few months from now. The French
have been there for eight years with their Operation Barkhane, since August 
2014. What have they accomplished?

I believe that it is a matter of time before the French military 
are asked to leave Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.  In any case, why should a 
former colony retain the military of  the former colonial power? It is
wiser to have  contracts with more neutral regimes, if at all.





Professor Gloria Emeagwali
History Department, Central Connecticut State University
www.africahistory.net
Gloria Emeagwali's Documentaries
2014 Distinguished Research Excellence Award in African Studies
 University of Texas at Austin
2019   Distinguished Africanist Award                   
New York African Studies Association
 


From: Harrow, Kenneth <har...@msu.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2022 12:22 PM
To: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emea...@ccsu.edu>; USAAfric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: wagner group on the make/on the take?
 

Please be cautious: **External Email**

Emeagwali, Gloria (History)

unread,
Feb 1, 2022, 5:28:21 AM2/1/22
to Harrow, Kenneth, usaafric...@googlegroups.com
You seem to be on an anti- Russian campaign. I wonder why. I mentioned blackwater
with full awareness of their nasty  reputation but they  work with your democratically elected
 USA, so why shudder? I doubt they are all like Blackwater but maybe so. Maybe not.
The Malians say they will work with the devil right now to get their country back
on a strong footing. 

All of a sudden you want to give a  free pass to the people who caused
 1.5 million to flee? Call the perpetrators bandits, terrorists or Jihadists. I don’t call them by an ethnic
label, though unlike TA. They are a motley group inspired by ISIS and the likes; migrants from the 
Libyan fiasco; some are fundamentalists of the Taliban type etc.
We know what they did to the Malian manuscripts. Recall Bamako the 
movie. I am shocked that they are now the good guys for you.

The Russians are in it for the money, you say. So what about the French.
I guess they were on another fake civilizin' mission, for free. 

You are right I don't use wikipedia  as a scholarly source except for the helpful images.

Thanks for your comments.





Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association


From: Harrow, Kenneth <har...@msu.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2022 8:56 PM

To: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emea...@ccsu.edu>; USAAfric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: wagner group on the make/on the take?

Please be cautious: **External Email**

i can put this in form of questions rather than as claims of certainty, since i am not a researcher who has done that work for claims on wagner
when you mention blackwater i get the shudders. i believe they are the incarnation of evil. every report i have seen, including human rights ones, identify wagner with violations of human rights, which means abusive use of force. their presence in c.a.r. and mali are subject to accusations of mineral extraction corruption.
gloria you are an important source of information for all of us; but i have to tell you, i wouldn't use the word terrorists to identify any groups. i associate the term with bush's attempts to politicize the opposition to muslim groups in the middle east and demean their politics and opposition to u.s. domination, along with saudi etc.
disgustingly that term is now used by everyone under the sun to vilify their political opposition. i don't know why you would find the rebel opposition worse than the c.a.r. govt? a long-standing opposition between christian and muslim parties, with every side commitment great violence against civilians on the other.

the russians are in it for the money, they have diamonds glowing in their eyes. the french were not much prettier. you want the former colonial power to be on the side of evil, and others to be liberatory. i view all that as wrong now. colonial days done finish. instead it is global powers, and propping up corrupt regimes, vs. rebel forces equally given to abusive killings.

there is a wikipedia page on it. you don't have to read it since you view them as unreliable, so i'll post it for others.
not saying it is god's truth, but it is pretty detailed.

Result: Ongoing. Séléka rebel coalition takes power from François Bozizé.; Fighting between Séléka factions and Anti-balaka militias.; President Michel Djotodia resigns. Interim government is followed by an elected government. De facto split between Ex-Séléka factions controlled north and east and Anti-balaka controlled south and west with a Séléka faction declaring the Republic of ...

Russian mercenaries and government offensives (since January 2021)

Since January, with the help of Russian mercenaries, the rebels have been on the retreat for the first time in years.[204] On 25 January 2021, CAR forces, backed by Russian PMCs and Rwandan troops, attacked Boyali, killing 44 rebels who were plotting an assault on the capital.[205] Subsequently, CAR forces, supported by the Russian contractors and Rwandan troops, captured a number of strategic towns throughout February 2021, including Bossembele, Bouar, Beloko and Bossangoa. As the rebels were being pushed back, Valery Zakharov urged them to hand over their leaders to the CAR's security forces.[206][207][208][209] During the fighting, the rebel Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) claimed its fighters killed several Wagner PMCs and captured one when they destroyed their truck near Bambari on 10 February.[210] Government advances, with the support of Russian and Rwandan forces, continued during March, April and May 2021.[211][212][213][214][215] This included the capture of the strategic towns of Bria and Kaga-Bandoro[216][217] and the Bakouma sub-prefecture.[218] Some towns were also seized solely by the Russian PMCs,[219][220][221] including Nzacko.[222] In at least one instance, the contractors reportedly included Syrians.[221] Mid-May, the Russians captured a village about 40 kilometers from Bambari during fighting that left 20 people dead.[223] In addition, at the end of the month, Russian and Syrian PMCs of the Wagner Group attacked a rebel checkpoint at the entrance of a village 28 kilometers from Bria, killing three CPC fighters.[224] Towards the end of July, the CAR military was leaving the frontline against the CPC to the PMCs. The plan was for government troops to occupy the captured positions after they had been secured by the contractors.[225] The increase in influence by Russia at the expense of France in its former colony led to a disinformation campaign on facebook between the two powers and France suspending aid and military cooperation with the CAR government in May 2021.[226] On March 25, 3R rebel leader Sidiki Abass, whose group is accused of war crimes, had succumbed to his injuries in the northern part of the country.[227] In April 2021, the UPC, then the biggest of the armed rebel groups,[228] withdrew from the CPC[229] and asked to talk with the government which has declined so far.[204] The rebels were seen to be moving away from cities and towards peripheral areas and turning to guerilla tactics instead of open fighting.[230] A state of emergency was declared in January 25, and President Tuoadera has been accused of using that opportunity to crack down on opponents and consolidate power. Pro-Tuoadera militias known as the "Sharks" and "7th Territorial Infantry Battalion" are alleged to have been involved in disappearances of members of Bozizé's party and former president Catherine Samba-Panza as well as challengers of Touadéra in the recent polls, Anicet Georges Dologuélé and Martin Ziguélé, report being prevented from exiting the country.[204] On 5 October 2021 34 civilians were killed by alleged UPC rebels in Matchika village near Bambari.[231] Between 6 and 16 December 2021 Anti-balaka fighters from pro-government faction killed number of Muslim civilians in Boyo commune for their alleged links with UPC rebels. On 16 and 17 January 2022 Russian mercenaries killed at least 65 civilians in Aïgbado and Yanga villages.[232]


ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu


From: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emea...@ccsu.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2022 7:47 PM

Harrow, Kenneth

unread,
Feb 1, 2022, 5:28:21 AM2/1/22
to Emeagwali, Gloria (History), usaafric...@googlegroups.com
i can put this in form of questions rather than as claims of certainty, since i am not a researcher who has done that work for claims on wagner
when you mention blackwater i get the shudders. i believe they are the incarnation of evil. every report i have seen, including human rights ones, identify wagner with violations of human rights, which means abusive use of force. their presence in c.a.r. and mali are subject to accusations of mineral extraction corruption.
gloria you are an important source of information for all of us; but i have to tell you, i wouldn't use the word terrorists to identify any groups. i associate the term with bush's attempts to politicize the opposition to muslim groups in the middle east and demean their politics and opposition to u.s. domination, along with saudi etc.
disgustingly that term is now used by everyone under the sun to vilify their political opposition. i don't know why you would find the rebel opposition worse than the c.a.r. govt? a long-standing opposition between christian and muslim parties, with every side commitment great violence against civilians on the other.

the russians are in it for the money, they have diamonds glowing in their eyes. the french were not much prettier. you want the former colonial power to be on the side of evil, and others to be liberatory. i view all that as wrong now. colonial days done finish. instead it is global powers, and propping up corrupt regimes, vs. rebel forces equally given to abusive killings.

there is a wikipedia page on it. you don't have to read it since you view them as unreliable, so i'll post it for others.
not saying it is god's truth, but it is pretty detailed.

Result: Ongoing. Séléka rebel coalition takes power from François Bozizé.; Fighting between Séléka factions and Anti-balaka militias.; President Michel Djotodia resigns. Interim government is followed by an elected government. De facto split between Ex-Séléka factions controlled north and east and Anti-balaka controlled south and west with a Séléka faction declaring the Republic of ...

Russian mercenaries and government offensives (since January 2021)

Since January, with the help of Russian mercenaries, the rebels have been on the retreat for the first time in years.[204] On 25 January 2021, CAR forces, backed by Russian PMCs and Rwandan troops, attacked Boyali, killing 44 rebels who were plotting an assault on the capital.[205] Subsequently, CAR forces, supported by the Russian contractors and Rwandan troops, captured a number of strategic towns throughout February 2021, including Bossembele, Bouar, Beloko and Bossangoa. As the rebels were being pushed back, Valery Zakharov urged them to hand over their leaders to the CAR's security forces.[206][207][208][209] During the fighting, the rebel Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) claimed its fighters killed several Wagner PMCs and captured one when they destroyed their truck near Bambari on 10 February.[210] Government advances, with the support of Russian and Rwandan forces, continued during March, April and May 2021.[211][212][213][214][215] This included the capture of the strategic towns of Bria and Kaga-Bandoro[216][217] and the Bakouma sub-prefecture.[218] Some towns were also seized solely by the Russian PMCs,[219][220][221] including Nzacko.[222] In at least one instance, the contractors reportedly included Syrians.[221] Mid-May, the Russians captured a village about 40 kilometers from Bambari during fighting that left 20 people dead.[223] In addition, at the end of the month, Russian and Syrian PMCs of the Wagner Group attacked a rebel checkpoint at the entrance of a village 28 kilometers from Bria, killing three CPC fighters.[224] Towards the end of July, the CAR military was leaving the frontline against the CPC to the PMCs. The plan was for government troops to occupy the captured positions after they had been secured by the contractors.[225] The increase in influence by Russia at the expense of France in its former colony led to a disinformation campaign on facebook between the two powers and France suspending aid and military cooperation with the CAR government in May 2021.[226] On March 25, 3R rebel leader Sidiki Abass, whose group is accused of war crimes, had succumbed to his injuries in the northern part of the country.[227] In April 2021, the UPC, then the biggest of the armed rebel groups,[228] withdrew from the CPC[229] and asked to talk with the government which has declined so far.[204] The rebels were seen to be moving away from cities and towards peripheral areas and turning to guerilla tactics instead of open fighting.[230] A state of emergency was declared in January 25, and President Tuoadera has been accused of using that opportunity to crack down on opponents and consolidate power. Pro-Tuoadera militias known as the "Sharks" and "7th Territorial Infantry Battalion" are alleged to have been involved in disappearances of members of Bozizé's party and former president Catherine Samba-Panza as well as challengers of Touadéra in the recent polls, Anicet Georges Dologuélé and Martin Ziguélé, report being prevented from exiting the country.[204] On 5 October 2021 34 civilians were killed by alleged UPC rebels in Matchika village near Bambari.[231] Between 6 and 16 December 2021 Anti-balaka fighters from pro-government faction killed number of Muslim civilians in Boyo commune for their alleged links with UPC rebels. On 16 and 17 January 2022 Russian mercenaries killed at least 65 civilians in Aïgbado and Yanga villages.[232]


ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu


From: Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emea...@ccsu.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 31, 2022 7:47 PM
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