Private military contractors have a long, and some would say checkered, history in Africa. Their story is still being written today.
Mercenaries have long shaped the course of African warfare, from Pharaoh Ramses II reportedly employing over 10,000 mercenaries in the 13th century B.C. to Carthage in the 5th century B.C., which heavily relied on hired soldiers from Iberia, Gaul, and North Africa during its campaigns, particularly in Sicily. Throughout history, they played pivotal roles in major conflicts, highlighting their enduring presence in global military history.
Modern Africa holds the second-highest number of armed conflicts worldwide, with more than 35 active non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) across various countries. These battles typically feature armed groups fighting against government forces or competing factions.
The use of mercenaries or private military contractors (PMCs) has seen a marked resurgence across Africa in recent years, driven by persistent conflicts and fragile state security.
By the late 20th century, mercenary activity shifted toward corporate military contracting. Executive Outcomes, a private military company established by former officers of the South African Defence Force, emerged as a prominent example in this field. The company was involved in Angola and Sierra Leone, where it provided military support to governments in exchange for access to natural resources like diamonds and oil. This marked the transition from ad hoc mercenary forces to professionalized military companies offering security and combat services for financial gain.
Mali
This former French colony in West Africa has a long history of political instability. The bottom fell out shortly before 2020, as the government was seemingly unable or unwilling to do anything about an Islamic insurgency in the desolate north of the country.
Demonstrators took to the streets in June 2020 following irregularities in the March and April parliamentary elections, which included the kidnapping of opposition leader Soumaïla Cissé. Taking advantage of the chaos, Colonel Assimi Goïta, Colonel-Major Ismaël Wagué, and their partners in crime arrested Mali’s president and prime minister.
Their organization, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), promised to immediately and peacefully restore order and hold elections in the near future. Later, the junta’s two leaders exchanged their military uniforms for two-piece suits and declared themselves interim president and vice-president.
Meanwhile, in 2022 and 2023, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara saw major gains in the ongoing Mali War, occupying large swathes of territory in southeastern Mali. By mid-2023, the militant group had doubled the amount of territory it controlled since the overthrow of the previous government and establishment of the junta.
In desperation, the government closed Mali’s borders, expelled all foreign diplomats, and removed French as the country’s official language. At the same time, the junta welcomed Russia’s Wagner Group and its replacement, the Africa Corps, with open arms.
Violence continued well into 2024. Rebels killed dozens of Russian mercenaries and Malian government soldiers during the Battle of Tinzaparin in July. Less than two months later, al-Qaeda linked JNIM militants attacked several locations across Bamako, killing at least 77 people and injuring 255 others.
Fighting and instability have spread to other West African nations, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire. Contractors may soon deploy in these troubled countries, mostly because they aren’t officially affiliated with the U.S. government.
Central African Republic
The CAR (nee French Equatorial Guinea), which is thousands of miles from West Africa, is one of the richest countries in the world, at least in terms of natural resources. But in terms of domestic GDP, it’s one of the poorest. This extreme “it was the best of times and it was the worst of times” disparity sets the stage for serious conflicts.
Former Prime Minister Faustin-Archange Touadéra won over 60% of the vote in a 2016 presidential runoff election. However, since many people had fled the country to get away from fighting, the result was incomplete, at best.
Touadéra was re-elected in 2020, largely because the country’s supreme court declared his opponent, Former president François Bozizé, morally unfit for office. Additionally, much of the country was in the hands of warring armed gangs. 800 of the country’s polling stations (14% of the total) were closed due to violence. So, the election results were questionable, to say the least.
Meanwhile, Wagner Group mercenaries, who supported Touadéra’s fight against rebels, were accused of harassing and intimidating civilians.
According to many reports, American private military contractors are in the CAR, countering Russian influence and providing assistance to government troops fighting Islamic militants.
Although these contractors are not in the bush, the risk of serious injury is high, mostly from training accidents. The medical bills after such accidents are high, since the CAR is an isolated country with an almost nonexistent healthcare infrastructure.
A Defense Base Act lawyer obtains compensation for these high medical bills, in addition to lost wages connected to a deployment-related injury or illness.
Mozambique
America has deeply entrenched interests in this Southeast African nation, mostly because pirates operate off the coast and harass oil shipments heading from the Middle East to Asian allies, like South Korea, Australia, and Japan.
For many years, the former Portuguese colony was a model of stability in Africa. Mozambique even joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the only non-former UK colony in this prestigious organization.
But Mozambique is in a precarious geographic position. It straddles the line between the mostly Muslim north of Africa and the mostly Christian south. The ongoing religious war inevitably spread to Mozambique. A devastating cyclone in 2000 did not help.
From 2013 to 2019, rebels carried out a low-intensity insurgency, mainly in the country’s central and northern regions. In September 2014, the Resistência Nacional Moçambicana and the government of Mozambique signed a peace treaty, which allowed both parties to concentrate on the general elections to be held in October 2014.
However, after the general elections, RENAMO refused to recognize the results and declared control over six provinces. About 12,000 refugees fled to nearby Malawi in the wake of intense fighting.
As if that wasn’t enough, beginning in 2017, the country has faced an ongoing insurgency by Islamist groups. In September 2020, ISIL insurgents captured and briefly occupied Vamizi Island in the Indian Ocean. In March 2021, dozens of civilians were killed and 35,000 others were displaced after Islamist rebels seized the city of Palma. In December 2021, nearly 4,000 Mozambicans fled their villages after an intensification of jihadist attacks in Niassa.
Contractors often bring stability to semi-unstable places like Mozambique. They direct the flow of humanitarian aid after devastating natural disasters, train government troops to fight insurgents, provide logistical support, and otherwise help prevent delicate situations from completely going sideways.
For more information about DBA benefits, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A.