Page:Seventh Report - Guns for gold- the Wagner Network exposed.pdf/16

Rh {| class="wikitable" ! Years of first Involvment !! Country !! Nature of Involvment !! Further information
 * 2021 || Mali || Sustained involvment || 2021 -Mali -Sustained - involvement - Wagner was invited by Mali’s military junta to provide security services against Islamist militant groups, following a coup by Colonel Assimi Goita in May 2021. Wagner operatives reportedly arrived in late 2021. In December 2021, the UK and its international partners strongly condemned the deployment of Wagner fighters to Mali. Before Wagner mercenaries were visible in Mali, Russian soft power had already played an important role in influencing public opinion on its involvement in Mali. A Wagner/Prigozhin-affiliated entity, the Foundation for the Protection of National Values (FZNC), published surveys after the military coup in 2021, showcasing opinions in favour of Russian intervention and negative perceptions of the French military’s Operation Barkhane. Following Colonel Assimi Goita’s accession to power, efforts continued to influence the perception of local populations in favour of an alliance with Russia and, in turn, to support the arrival of Wagner mercenaries.70
 * }
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11. In addition to these seven countries, there are a further four where we have high confidence of the Wagner Network’s non-military involvement since 2014: Zimbabwe, the DRC, Madagascar, and South Africa. These countries are presented in Table 3.