Central Africa faces the threat of a new militia trained by Wagner policy

Press sources in Central Africa reported that the AAKG militia, which was originally launched as a self-defense group from the Zande community in southeastern Central Africa, has today turned into one of the most prominent sources of tension and violence in the country.

After about 200 of them were recruited in 2023 and hastily trained by members of the Russian “Wagner” group, they were integrated into the ranks of the regular army under Russian supervision.

But the official promises were quickly dashed, as the fighters accused the authorities of sending them to the front lines without financial compensation befitting the risks, which prompted them to rebel against the army itself and their Russian trainers.

According to a report published by the International Crisis Group at the end of November, AKG elements killed at least 200 people, most of them civilians, in addition to soldiers from the armed forces, Russian elements, and even a United Nations peacekeeper.

Their attacks also led to the displacement of thousands of civilians and increased tensions between local communities, especially with their repeated targeting of members of the Fulani tribe.

Conflict background

The roots of the crisis go back to the continuing confrontations between the army and its Russian allies against the “Unity for Peace in Central Africa” movement, an armed group dominated by Fulani fighters, which human rights reports accuse of committing widespread violations against the residents of the “Haute Mbomou” province in the south-east of the country.

In this context, the authorities believed that relying on a local militia might relieve pressure on the army, but the result was the opposite.

The report adds that the danger of the militia is not limited to the interior, as it is also active in border areas with South Sudan, which raises fears of violence spreading to neighboring countries and threatening regional stability as a whole.

As the number of deaths and displacement increases, the humanitarian crisis in Central Africa deepens, where the population lives between the hammer of armed groups and the anvil of out-of-control militias.

Observers believe that the AAKG experience reveals the fragility of the strategy of relying on undisciplined local militias, and the disastrous repercussions it may have on civil security and peace.