AWar rages on in the Middle East, with clashes in several countries fueling fears of a larger conflict, the mercenaries of Russia‘S wagner group are once again get back into action.

Eight months later Wagner’s March on Moscow ultimately failed; six months later Yevgeny Prigozhin and his commanders in chief were blown out of the sky in Vladimir Putin’s retaliation, the fighters are called back to arms with the blessing of the Kremlin.

The snowy authenticity of Ukraine was replaced by the sand and savannah of Africa. There’s a new banner to fight under – Afrika Korps, a name reminiscent of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s German Afrika Korps, which took part in the momentous campaign against British and Allied forces in Libya during World War II.

Hamas’s attack on Israel three months ago has sparked land, air and sea fighting across the region, with the bloodbath continuing in Gaza and rocket attacks and targeted assassinations in the Gulf, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, etc Iran and even Pakistan.

In this increasingly delicate scenario, the former Wagner Group is consolidating its presence in Libya and Sudan, part of a highly unstable region, and strengthening it in African states where it has replaced departed Western forces.

Many former Wagner fighters are said to have expressed interest in joining the corps. Sergey, a fighter who served with Wagner in Syria and Ukraine before leaving shortly before the coup attempt, said: “They seem to be serious people, well organized, and that’s why a lot of men are thinking about the offer.”

“They use good psychology. They point out that many soldiers find it very difficult to get used to civilian life again. Of course we know that this is the case. They warn about what happened to some who served in Afghanistan and Chechnya. They took alcohol and drugs, ended up in prison, and their marriages failed. Recommissioning is one way to avoid this.”

“There are a lot of people who miss being with Wagner,” he added. “In the beginning it was a special group. Not what happened in Ukraine with the drafted convicts and other useless people, but what it looked like at the beginning, consisting of professional soldiers, many of them from special forces. But the Africa Corps is also a special name in war, isn’t it? A historic name.”

Moscow is eager to seize the opportunities presented by the crisis and capitalize on the current instability, say Western officials who have monitored Russian activities in North Africa and the Sahel. The focus is again on a planned Russian naval base at Port Sudan on the Red Sea, where the Houthis are fighting with U.S. and British warships protecting a key global trade route. Wagner had carried out initial work on the port project. The group has long-standing ties to Sudan and is believed to be supplying weapons to both sides in the current civil war and making its presence felt through involvement in the illegal gold trade.

According to official information, the Kremlin is also preparing for the consequences of the Middle East conflict. One proposed scenario for a Gaza ceasefire involves the remnants of the Hamas leadership moving to Algeria – a repeat of the withdrawal of Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to Tunisia after they were forced out by the Israeli invasion in 1982 Lebanon were expelled.

The Israeli government has so far rejected the Algeria option and promised to destroy Hamas in Gaza. However, if the plan drawn up by France and Saudi Arabia were to be implemented, Russian mercenaries would be in close proximity to the remnants of Hamas in Libya.

It is alleged that former Wagner commanders were spotted in Libya when they recently arrived at al-Khadim air base in the east and in Sirte and al-Jufrah in the central region, areas controlled by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the rebel commander was supported by Moscow in the country’s murderous conflict that erupted after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

Moscow is also expected to exploit anger in the Global South over the perceived failure of the West, particularly the US and UK, to condemn Israel for the events in Gaza, which have so far killed more than 26,000 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry . South Africa has taken the lead in accusing Israel of intent to commit genocide in Gaza before the United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ). A claim Israel has loudly rejected.

Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov and Major General Andrei Averyanov of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, are playing key roles in the Kremlin’s new Africa offensive.

The two men traveled to Libya to meet Haftar in Benghazi and also visited the Central African Republic (CAR), Burkina Fasso, Mali and Niger – all countries that Wagner has invaded or plans to enter after their military regimes forced the withdrawal of the from France-led Western forces.

A Western security official said: “Russia was obviously focused on Ukraine and its influence in the Middle East, which was quite large, had declined significantly.” They now see a way back, and Wagner, whatever he is called now and in the future is a very useful proxy. The difference from before is that it is now much more under the direct control of the Kremlin, rather than the control of people like Prigozhin and his associates. There is no denying that there is currently a certain security vacuum in West Africa due to the events with the French, and Russia is trying to fill this vacuum using a PMC [private military company].”

The announcement of the formation of the Afrika Korps as Wagner’s successor originally came from Russian military bloggers. This was confirmed by Igor Korotchenko, a former army colonel and editor-in-chief of the Natsionalnia Oborna magazine [National Defence] who is close to the Defense Ministry in Moscow.

The Corps attempts to take on the role of Wagner, who had a keen interest in Africa providing security to regimes and strong rulers in return for payment, often in the form of lucrative mineral rights.

After President Putin appeared to forgive him for his coup attempt, Prigozhin took a trip to Africa to reassure customers that normal service would continue with support from the Russian government.

Riley Moeder, a senior analyst at the US-based think tank New Lines Institute, said: “Prigozhin was filmed in this region before his plane crashed.” The region is looking for support, so Moscow now wants to reassure them that it is remains committed to the region.”

Both Yevkurov and Averyanov knew Prigozhin – but the connection was anything but friendly. Yevkurov was portrayed as Prigozhin’s prisoner as Wagner troops moved into the Russian city of Rostov in the first phase of the coup attempt – a public embarrassment that the deputy defense minister has not forgotten.

Averyanov and the GRU are accused of being involved in the plot to assassinate Prigozhin and his senior officers, which was allegedly organized by Nikolai Patrushev, the head of the Kremlin’s National Security Council.

The Afrika Korps, in Telegram posts, portrayed a “window of opportunity” for potential recruits who had emerged in Africa as countries turned away from the West. The withdrawal of French forces from Mali and Niger was cited as examples. “When Russia has become strong and challenged the whole world, it needs professional warriors more than ever,” one post said.

The company wanted to emphasize that its leadership consisted of experienced commanders who had served in “elite” and “special forces” of both the Russian armed forces and private military companies.

Some of them, it is said, were with Wagner. Former members of the group were welcome to apply for positions; They were valued and were allowed to wear Wagner insignia on their uniforms in addition to those of the Afrika Korps.

The recruitment campaign promised high salaries, paid in foreign currency when necessary, competent and professional leadership, and medical care and social benefits, including generous compensation to families of fighters who were injured or died in active service.

Sergey, the former Wagner fighter who currently lives in a central European country, said: “They were also very positive about one thing. Many people who left Wagner were afraid that they would be blamed for the mobilization [the attempted coup] even if they had nothing to do with it.

“These people say that being at Wagner wasn’t a problem, but actually a good thing. The only rule, as far as we can see, is that Wagner people have joined Rosgvardia – Russia’s National Guard [the coup] have to stay there, they can’t just change.

What happens to the Afrika Korps in the ruthless world of the Kremlin and Russian mercenaries remains to be seen. Its namesake, the Afrika Korps, surrendered in 1943 along with the other Axis powers in North Africa. Most of its members were sent to camps in the USA as prisoners of war.

Rommel, idolized by his soldiers and admired by the enemy, took part in a failed plot against Adolf Hitler, as Prigozhin had done against Putin. The Führer wanted to avoid a trial because he feared what reaction Rommel’s popularity would provoke among the army and the public. His Nazi captors gave him the choice of committing suicide in return for sparing his family and staff. The field marshal put on his Afrika Korps field uniform and took a cyanide capsule.