Russian and Chinese contractors (mercenaries) are on the move in Africa. These organizations approach their jobs from very different perspectives.
The Wagner Group (and its successors) operate in combat zones like Mali, the Central African Republic, and Mozambique, providing military support to fragile regimes in exchange for mining rights and strategic access. Wagner’s model blends regime protection, propaganda, and force, all under Kremlin-friendly deniability.
Chinese firms like Frontier Services Group focus on guarding infrastructure and protecting Chinese nationals linked to Belt and Road projects. These mercenaries operate more like corporate security than combat units, avoiding high-risk zones, staying within legal frameworks (on paper), and relying on local partnerships.
Both countries rely on limited transparency, loose legal oversight, and a deep fusion between state and private actors. Their models are different, but both are strategic, calculated, and expanding.
Dangerous Hotspots in Africa
Regardless of the model, private military contractors boldly go where no one has gone before. Sometimes, contractors lay the groundwork for further foreign intervention. Usually, however, contractors work a problem from the other end. Governments deploy contractors to stabilize unstable situations without committing regular troops.
Mozambique
Post-colonial Mozambique got off to a rough start. Barely two years after the country gained independence from Portugal, a protracted civil war began. Then, in the mid-1990s, that conflict ended. In 1994, Mozambique held its first multiparty elections and has since remained a relatively stable presidential republic.
But although civil wars have ended, the seeds of discontent remain. Mozambique is a very poor and underdeveloped country. Its GDP per capita, human development, equality, and average life expectancy rankings are all among the lowest on the globe. Additionally, Mother Nature hit Mozambique hard in the early 2000s. The government’s poor response to these tragedies, along with extreme poverty, made people in the Islamic north feel like the government did not care about them.
Fed by economic and political discontent, as many as six different terrorist cells operate in Cabo Delgado, in the extreme north of Mozambique. Ansar al-Sunna promises that its form of Islam is an “antidote” to the existing “corrupt, elitist rule.”
From 2017 to 2022, it seemed like insurgents had the upper hand in Cabo Delgado. But a series of government offensives in 2022 put Ansar al-Sunna on its heels. Violent engagements continue, but they are becoming increasingly rare.
Contractors deploy to places like Mozambique to ensure that they stay quiet. Mozambique’s proximity to important Indian Ocean shipping lanes makes the country’s security a high priority for the United States and its allies.
China has a vested interest in these sea lanes as well. Chinese companies bankroll several large infrastructure projects in the region. The security forces that protect these projects are much more aggressive than shopping mall security guards.
CAR
Like Mozambique, the Central African Republic has low economic and social development scores. Unlike Mozambique, the CAR has abundant natural resources, such as uranium reserves, crude oil, gold, diamonds, cobalt, lumber, and hydropower.
The CAR has a central government, but in reality, armed gangs control most of the country. The multilateral Central African Bush War broke out in 2004. By 2013, about a quarter-million people had fled their homes amidst brutal fighting and allegations of genocide and other war crimes. Thousands of international peacekeepers arrived, but to no avail.
Things got worse instead of better for the people of the CAR. During the 2020 presidential elections, violence closed almost a fifth of the country’s polling places. Russian mercenaries arrived shortly thereafter to prop up the government of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra. In exchange for this protection, Russia helps itself to the aforementioned natural resources and largely dominates the government. In fact, one Western diplomat said the Central African Republic is a “vassal state” of the Kremlin.
Mali
This West African nation is about twice the size of Texas and has a smaller population than the Lone Star State. The country’s troubled past and vast swaths of vacant land make Mali a breeding ground for Islamic insurgencies.
Back in the day, Mali was the center of three powerful West African empires. But those days are long gone. The French conquered Mali in the 19th century, and it became an independent nation in 1960.
In 2013, Tuareg rebels occupied much of the north, declared the breakaway state of Azawad, and the fragile country fell apart. The conflict was complicated by a military coup in March 2012 and later fighting between Tuareg and other rebel factions. In response to territorial gains, the French military launched Operation Serval in January 2013. A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north, although the conflict continued.
At roughly the same time, ISIS rebels began an insurgency in the southeast, squeezing the central government from two sides. In desperation, Mali closed its borders, expelled the French, and contracted with Russian mercenaries. A UN panel reported that in the first three months of 2022, 543 civilians were killed and 269 were wounded.
Some observers believe that if Mali and its Russian allies subdue the rebels, the Chinese will step in and offer to bankroll projects, as they have in other parts of the continent. China’s real motive in these situations is to expand its influence in Africa.
The American PMC Model
Russian and Chinese mercenaries are either military support or infrastructure support contractors. American private military contractors are both.
American law restricts private military contractors to defensive roles. Contractors usually man checkpoints, verify IDs, and guard important people and assets. Military contractors have served in this capacity since the Vietnam War era.
Military mercenaries usually start fights to promote selfish state interests. American private military contractors serve in a more limited and much more vital capacity. They support American servicemembers abroad.
Some military contractors protect construction projects, much like the aforementioned Chinese Frontier Services Group. Contractors also do the construction work, or at least much of it.
These dual roles significantly increase the chances of a deployment-related injury. Seemingly minor injuries in places like Mozambique are emergency situations.
Field hospitals are little more than first-aid stations. Injured victims usually require air transportation to a larger facility that is usually on a different continent. The transportation and treatment delays drive up the cost of deployment-related injuries, in terms of medical bills and missed work.
A Defense Base Act lawyer obtains compensation for these losses. The Defense Base Act replaces lost wages and pays reasonably necessary medical bills. Any deployment-related injury generally qualifies, even if the victim was not injured “on the clock” and on company property. Furthermore, noncitizens, such as translators, are typically eligible for DBA benefits.
For more information about DBA benefits, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A.