They guard mines, train the bodyguards of African presidents and provide security support to UN operations. And increasingly, behind every foreign soldier in the Sahel today, you will find a private military contractor, like reported by middleeasteye.net.

Unable to set up permanent bases in Africa, the US army’s African command, Africom, is headquartered in Germany and is now reliant on private companies for a range of services – intelligence, transport, logistics, medical evacuation, and sometimes more combat-focused missions.

The 4 October 2017 ambush of an American special forces group in Niger hints at how close those relationships are. Nine soldiers, including four American Green Berets, were killed in the attack by more than 100 fighters aligned to the Islamic State (IS) group.

A Pentagon investigation report into the attack says eight American special forces operators, two other American soldiers and a “intelligence contractor”, whose identity and nationality were not revealed, were present.

Drone images showed wounded soldiers being rescued by a Bell 214 civilian helicopter, which belongs to the private company Erickson.

Another private military transport company, Berry Aviation, was put on alert according to researcher and author Joseph Trevithick.

On its website, Berry Aviation makes no secret of its commitment in Africa alongside the US army for freight and passenger transport, parachuting and combat medical evacuations.

In short, it was enough for one mission to go wrong to reveal the names of three private military companies.

For Africom alone, 21 American firms advertise themselves as military service providers in North Africa and the Sahel.

But US firms are not the only one present – dozens of other companies, including from France, the UK, Russia and Ukraine, operate in the area. Their missions range from cooking to armed intervention.

Russia moves into Africa

The Russian private military company, Wagner Group, is gaining a foothold in Africa.

On 24 March, the company took possession of former president Jean-Bedel Bokassa’s house in the Central African Republic and transformed it into a centre to train thousands of soldiers for the reconstituted national army.

The appearance of Russian instructors had been preceded in 2017 by arms deliveries from Moscow, which caused upheavals at the UN. France and the US said Russia was violating an international arms embargo applied after the 2013 violence responsible for hundreds of deaths in Central Africa. The UN however signed off on the shipments.

Behind the scenes, it is also reported that Wagner mercenaries were assigned to the close protection of the president, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, while another group was in charge of the security of the country’s main diamond mine.

Wagner’s men are reported to already be operating in Sudan, protecting gold, diamond and uranium mines on behalf of President Omar al-Bashir.

According to Igor Strelkov, a Russian army veteran currently sanctioned by the EU for his leading role in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, Wagner was “preparing a mission to South Sudan, and now a search for Soviet-era specialists and translators has begun”.

From Libya to Ivory Coast

Other Russian military companies operate in Libya. According to the Russian blog BMPD, the Russian military company RSB sent a demining team to the Benghazi area. Russian private agents also trained soldiers of the Libyan general Khalifa Haftar at the Egyptian base of Sidi Barrani near the Libyan border, according to the Russian blog.

Ukrainian companies also operate in the Sahel. In Mali, Ukrainian helicopters provided airborne medical evacuation support to the UN mission to Mali, UNMISMA, for two years. They are also active in Sudan, Congo and Ivory Coast.

The private military company Omega Consulting Group opened a subsidiary in Burkina Faso and sent several men to the country. Recently, the company recruited French-speaking “operators” with solid combat experience.

Andrei Kekbalo, the head of the company, said in an interview with BBC Ukraine that the salaries offered by his company ranged from $2,000 to $5,000 a month, depending on the danger of the missions.

For positions in Burkina Faso, Omega Consulting Group requires experienced profiles. Experience in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Africa is rewarded with $14,000 a month.

Today, guerrilla warfare in the Sahel region has become a real business for many actors who sometimes act in total obscurity and on the margins of international legality.

North African countries worry increasingly about this trend while they watching the security situation completely escape their control.

The Trudeau government is keeping the door open to sending more helicopters to Mali to ensure the Canadian Forces can provide round-the-clock medical evacuations in what is expected to be a harsh operating environment, like reported by thestar.com.

Canada is preparing to send two Chinook transport helicopters and four armed Griffon escorts to the African nation this summer as part of a commitment to support the UN mission there.

No fewer than 14.8 million people were affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria with at least 1.7 million of them displaced, like reported by nta.ng.

Nigeria’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande, told the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts Tuesday that most adversely affected were women and children.

Bande regretted that the Boko Haram insurgency had led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in northeastern Nigeria.

He, however, assured the international community that ‘The Buhari Plan’ would bring relief to Northeast Nigeria, currently ravaged the by Boko Haram activities as all efforts were being taken against the insurgency.

The Presidential Committee for North East Initiative developed ‘The Buhari Plan’ – a framework of action to ensure the rehabilitation of the victims of insurgency and the reconstruction of their communities.

Bande said a robust Social Protection Initiative, and a second National Action Plan to fully implement the provisions of resolution 1325 (2000) had been instituted to protect civilians, particularly women and children from the Boko Haram ravages.

“To that end, the initiatives will also complement the implementation of ‘The Buhari Plan’, which provides a blueprint for the comprehensive humanitarian relief and socioeconomic stabilisation of the North-East, as well as the return and resettlement of displaced persons.

“We are collaborating with our neighbours, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, within the framework of the Multinational Joint Task Force, to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency, which is targeting civilians, particularly women and children,” Bande said.

The Buhari Plan’ aims to achieve a safe and prosperous Northeast that would be a global model for post-conflict socio-economic recovery and development.

The envoy noted that Nigeria was among the first group of states to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration in Oslo, thereby making a pledge to protect schools during armed conflicts and using and promoting the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict.

Bande said the declaration complemented and strengthened Nigeria’s national Safe Schools Initiative established in 2014, as part of the response by the Federal Government to promote safe zones for learning.

He said these initiatives reflected government’s commitment to ensuring the security of women and children during armed conflicts and enhancing their active and direct participation in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

The ambassador said: “It is heartening to note that over a thousand kidnapped women and children have been rescued, and all territories once controlled by the group have been recovered.

“Indeed, our experience in the Lake Chad Region today, is evidence that with determined international collaboration, terrorism can be defeated.

“In addition, the Government of Nigeria has adopted a multinational and multi-agency approach tagged ‘Operation Safe Corridor’, to effectively handle the de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration of willing and surrendered Boko Haram members back to the society”.

The Nigerian envoy said so far, many insurgents had willingly surrendered to the military, while about 700 others had indicated interest to surrender.

He said Nigeria had taken steps to cater to victims of Boko Haram in the form of rape and other sexual violence against children, abduction of children and other grave violations.

According to him, these steps include providing humanitarian relief, financial, economic, educational and psycho-social support.

“Despite the tremendous efforts being made at the national level, we acknowledge that protecting civilians in conflict situations remains a critical challenge, not only for the United Nations, but also for the entire international community.’’

Burkina Faso security forces killed three suspected Islamist militants and arrested one more on Tuesday morning in an operation in the capital Ouagadougou, its gendarme force said according to reuters.com.

One gendarme was killed and four others wounded in the fighting in Ouagadougou’s Ragnongo neighbourhood, while one civilian was also injured, the force said in a statement.

Ouagadougou has been hit by several Islamist militant attacks in recent years. In March, militants from a Mali-based al Qaeda affiliate killed eight people and wounded dozens more in coordinated raids on the army headquarters and French embassy.

Burkina soldiers and police have also come under repeated attack near the borders with Mali and Niger, where militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State easily cross the porous frontiers.

The statement said that the gendarmes had also seized AK-47s, pistols, explosives and military attire during the raid.

Czech Republic has delivered some arms to army to boost Nigeria’s counter insurgency operations, like reported by nta.ng.

The Army confirmed on Monday its receipt of support arms from the Czech Republic.

The military took delivery of different calibre of ammunition and spare parts, including rockets and projectile to boost the war against terrorism and other forms criminality.

Brig.-Gen. Olufemi Akinjobi, the Chairman of the Arms and Ammunition Reception Committee, told newsmen at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja that more weaponry were being expected from other countries.

Akinjobi declined to name the calibre of arms the committee took delivery of, saying “they are support weapons” for the operation Lafiya Dole and ongoing “Operation Last Hold” Borno North and Lake Chad region.

A few foreign military officers and senior officers were engaged to inspect and open the pallet containing the arms.

At least 12 civilians were killed in northern Mali in an attack on a market that also involved the shooting of a Malian soldier, military sources said according to dailymail.co.uk.

The attack took place Saturday in the town of Boulekessi near the border with Burkina Faso.

“Malian troops under the G5 Sahel command are at the centre of this incident,” a military source from the joint force of soldiers from five Sahel countries told AFP.

“One of the soldiers had been attacked by an armed man at the market in Boulekessi. Afterwards, in circumstances not yet clear, at least 12 civilians at the site were killed,” the source said.

A Malian military source added that it was difficult to contact the region by phone and that an investigation was under way “to find out exactly how many civilians were killed and who shot the soldier.”

Contacted by AFP, a former Malian minister, who comes from the region, said that witnesses had claimed the incident was due to military “blunders” and that “more than 15 civilians were killed”.

“According to two witnesses, an armed man shot a Malian soldier who was now fighting for his life,” the ex-minister said, adding that he was waiting for confirmation of the details of the incident.

Mali’s defence minister Tienan Coulibaly could not been reached for comment.

The Malian army is often accused of making arbitrary arrests and carrying out extra-judicial executions in its fight against jihadists in the north of the country.

France intervened militarily in Mali in 2013 to help government forces drive Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists out of the north.

But large tracts of the country remain lawless despite a peace accord signed with ethnic Tuareg leaders in mid-2015 aimed at isolating the jihadists. The violence has also spilled over into both Burkina Faso and Niger.

The Czech government approved the financial contribution of one million euros for the development of the G5 Sahel joint force that is to fight terrorists and organised crime on the southern rim of Sahara in North Africa, Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) said after its meeting on Wednesday, like reported by praguemonitor.com.

The joint forces are being formed by five Sahel countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

In terms of security and transit illegal migration, Sahel is becoming a crucial region both for the EU and the Czech Republic, the government said previously.

The Sahel joint force is to get the money through the EU African Peace Facility.

Jakub Fajnor, from the Czech Defence Ministry press section, said the defence and foreign affairs ministries agreed on the contribution to Sahel forces. The money is likely to be used for the purchase of bulletproof vests, helmets, sleeping bags or metal detectors.

Fajnor said the Sahel joint force has the potential to reduce illegal migration from the region.

Czech soldiers operate in the region as they take part in the patrolling service at the headquarters of the EU training mission in Mali and in the training of Mali’s armed forces.

The combined troops of the Nigerian Operation Lafiya Dole and the Cameroonian Defence Forces have killed 15 Boko Haram insurgents in separate encounters in Southern Lake Chad Basin, like reported by thisdaylive.com.

The Deputy Director Public Relations, Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the troops neutralised the insurgents while conducting operations to clear remnants of Boko Haram insurgents in the Lake Chad Islands and surrounding villages of northern Borno on Tuesday.
Nwachukwu said the troops dislodged the insurgents from their hideout after a fierce battle, killing 11 insurgents in Gomaran village of Southern Lake Chad Basin.
The Nigerian troops are already engaged in Operation Final Push to clear the North-east of Boko Haram remnants.

Nwachukwu said that in a two other separate encounters with the fleeing insurgents in Firgi and Moula, both in Bama and Dikwa Local Governments Areas of Borno State, troops also ambushed and neutralised four Boko Haram insurgents who were fleeing troops ‘ onslaught in the northern fringes.

According to him, the clearance operations also led to the recovery of one single barrel gun, one Dane gun and one locally made pistol.

He said: “Other items recovered from the dislodged insurgents include: four motorcycles, motorcycle spare parts, two tricycles, six pumping machines, and two power generating sets. Additionally, the valiant troops captured two Boko Haram flags, a pair of camouflage uniform, a pair of combat boots, a camera, a bag of mechanical tools and medications.

“Four men, 33 women and 16 children were rescued by the troops from the insurgents’ hideouts. The rescued hostages are currently being profiled for subsequent hand over to officials of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp for documentation and administering.”

In another development, Nwachukwu said an aged Boko Haram terrorist also on Tuesday, killed himself in a suicide bomb attack around a telephone mast in Konduga in Borno State.
He said the elderly man pretending to be weak and feeble was being searched by men of the Civilian Joint Task Force, when he detonated a suicide vest contained in a bag he was carrying.
Unfortunately, he added, three Civilian Joint Task Force members paid the supreme price in the incident. He said the wounded have been evacuated for medical attention.

“Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives as well as those injured in the callous attack.
“This singular incident points to the variation in the tactics of the Boko Haram terrorists in their uncanny resolve to deceptively infiltrate communities and towns to mindlessly attack vulnerable and soft targets. Aside using women and children, the terrorists are now engaging the aged in suicide bombing as witnessed in this recent incident.

They have also been detected to now appear clean and Well dressed to look unsuspicious and enable them gain access to targets marked for suicide attack. Some of the terrorists have also been found to now conceal their suicide vests by wearing it on the thigh rather than the waist to appear less bulky and evade detection when searched,” he stated.

In view of these developments, he advised members of the public to be vigilant and discerning as they go about their normal daily routines and activities.

In the resolution, unanimously adopted, the Council also recalled its earlier decision to authorize the AU to reduce the Mission’s level of uniformed personnel to 20,626 by 30 October this year from 22,126 now;  but to include a minimum of 1,040 AMISOM police personnel, including five specialist Formed Police Units, like reported by news.un.org.

It also requested that the UN Secretary‑General continue to provide logistical support for AMISOM, its 70 civilian personnel; the 10,900-strong Somalia National Army jointly operating with AMISOM, and the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

The Council resolution adopted at the end of August last year, requested the AU and the UN to conduct a joint assessment of AMISOM’s operations – but this assessment has been delayed, leading to Tuesday’s decision to extend the deployment of AMISOM for just over two months, in order to assess the merits of a longer extension.

Briefing the Council, Michael Keating, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, said that AMISOM continues to play an indispensable role, “at great human cost”, in protecting population centres, main supply routes and Somalia’s overall political progress.

“Suffice to say that successful security transition will require not just deep reform of the Somalia security forces but also, as the AU Commission Chairperson and UN Secretary-General’s Envoys noted, transformation of AMISOM,” he said.

Such transformation would entail more flexible joint operations and combat mentoring; greater emphasis on policing; adequate enablers and force multipliers, together with stronger accountability.

More flexible operational support by the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) will also be needed, along with predictable financing.

“The AU-UN joint review is likely to underscore that the foremost requirement for success is the need for unity of purpose among Somali actors, as well as between the Somalis, the AU, the troop-contributing countries, and principal security partners,” he said.

The Council extended the mandate of the EU training mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) for two years, until 18 May 2020. The Council also amended the mandate of the mission to include in its objectives the provision of advice and training support to the G5 Sahel Joint Force, as part of the EU’s ongoing efforts to support the G5 Sahel process, like reported by africa-newsroom.com.

The Council also agreed to allocate a significantly increased budget of € 59.7 millionto the mission for the period from 19 May 2018 to 18 May 2020, compared to € 33.4 for the current two-year period.

This decision means that the efforts carried out over recent months to regionalise the work of both civilian and military CSDP missions (EUTM Mali, EUCAP Sahel Mali and EUCAP Sahel Niger) in the Sahel will become more operational. The aim is to support regional security cooperation, as set out in the Council conclusions on Mali and the Sahel of 19 June 2017.

EUTM Mali assists in the reconstruction of effective and accountable Malian armed forces capable of ensuring the long-term security of Mali and, under civilian authority, restoring the country’s territorial integrity. To this effect, EUTM Mali delivers training to units of the Malian armed forces and aids the development of an autonomous training capability. The mission also provides advice to the Malian authorities on reforming the army.

The headquarters of the mission are located in Bamako, Mali. The commander of the mission is Brigadier General Enrique Millán Martinez, a Spanish national who took up his duties on 31 January 2018.

The mission is part of the EU’s comprehensive approach to security and development in the Sahel. There are two other CSDP missions in the region: EUCAP Sahel Mali, which supports the Malian state’s efforts to ensure constitutional and democratic order, implement the conditions for lasting peace and maintain its authority throughout the entire territory; and EUCAP Sahel Niger, which supports the fight against organised crime and terrorism in Niger.