Across Africa and particularly the Sahel region, Russia-backed disinformation operations, a key part of the hybrid warfare, seek to “prop up repressive regimes and harm civilians”, reveals a new analysis published in the latest edition of the Africa Defense Forum (ADF) magazine. Russia is linked to 40% of all disinformation campaigns across the African continent, AFD reported, describing these operations as “cognitive warfare” run by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Disinformation is a key part of the hybrid warfare that Russia unleashed in Africa in a growing effort to expand its influence and gain control over the continent’s natural resources. After his death in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023, the Russian Defense Ministry took over the Wagner Group’s operations on the continent and rebranded it under the name Africa Corps. The Kremlin thus exploits Africa’s history of colonialism to whitewash Russia’s own account of civilian massacres, human rights violations and other atrocities committed in Africa.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 15, 2024 11:07 UTC