Summary
The operation demonstrates Russia’s ever-expanding reach across Africa. It also illustrates the shortcomings of more than two decades of U.S. military strategy on the continent. Despite spending billions on counterterror operations, training, and infrastructure, extremist violence is at an all-time high.
The operation began when 14 defectors from Kony’s “Lord’S Resistance Army,” or the LRA, surrendered to a group of men posing as Central African Republic government forces. The men were, in fact, a Chadian armed group affiliated with Wagner, which often partners with local militias to support its operations.
Joseph Kony is believed to have escaped during or prior to the Wagner attack. Kony created the LRA after a civil war devastated northern Uganda. The U.S. military became directly involved in the hunt for Kony in 2011. The LRA stood out as the most brutal of the warring parties.
Observant Compass was wound down by former president Donald Trump after he took office in 2017. The counter-LRA operation alone was spread across five countries in central Africa, costing an estimated $780 million. Wagner has one of its largest operations in the Central African Republic.
Niccolò Monica was detained by Wagner in the Central African Republic. He was traveling overland from Cameroon to Chad through the Central Africa Republic. Monica was stopped by police at a checkpoint just 30 miles from the Chadian border. The mercenaries took Monica to their operating base, where he was thoroughly questioned.
If Wagner were to catch a warlord that an American president ordered the Pentagon to kill, to no avail, it would only further humiliate the U.S. It would also bolster Wagner’s image, demonstrating to governments that there is an alternative to Western intervention. This is essential for Putin’S strategy to supplant and diminish Western influence globally.
