Russia dey expand dia military waka for Africa, dem dey carry beta weapon go sub-Saharan conflict areas wey Kremlin-controlled armed force dey rise.

Dem dey dodge Western sanctions as Moscow dey use cargo ship carry tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and other big military equipment go West Africa. Na wetin Associated Press (AP) find out.

AP use satellite image and radio signal track Russian-flagged cargo ships wey waka from Baltic Sea for almost one month. Dem carry howitzers, radio jamming equipment and other military hardware, according to European military officials wey dey monitor dem.

The Africa Corps, wey dem start two years ago and get link to one secret branch of Russia army, dey grow well well as US and European soldiers dey comot from the area. Many sub-Saharan countries dey turn to Russia for security.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov talk say, “We wan expand our cooperation with African countries for all areas, especially for economy and investment. This cooperation go also touch defence and security matter.”

For Mali, Russian weapons dey move from port go the country. Russian ships like Baltic Leader and Patria wey Western nations don sanction, dock for Conakry, Guinea, for late May, according to AP satellite images.

Other ships don deliver tanks, armoured vehicles and other hardware for January. Dem truck am go Mali, according to European military officials and one Malian blogger wey post video of the convoy. AP confirm the video and geolocate am to RN5 highway wey lead to Bamako, Mali capital.

After the latest delivery for Conakry, dem see trucks carry Russian-made armoured vehicles, howitzers and other equipment dey go Mali again. Malian broadcaster ORTM confirm say Mali army don receive new military equipment.

AP analysis of the video and images show say dem deliver plenty Russian-made hardware like 152 mm artillery guns, smaller cannons, BTR-80 armoured troop carrier with radio-jamming equipment, Spartak armoured vehicles and other carriers wey get guns. Dem even see small boats and tanker trucks wey get Russian writing for body.

Military officials tell AP say dem believe say Russia dey keep the strongest equipment like artillery and jamming tools for dia Africa Corps, no be for Mali army. Satellite don even spot Su-24 fighter-bomber for Bamako air base recently.

French soldiers bin dey help fight terrorism for Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger before. But after coup for Mali (2020, 2021), Burkina Faso (2022) and Niger (2023), France comot dia troops. Russian mercenaries like Wagner Group don take over.

Wagner Group start for Sudan in 2017 and don spread go other African countries, sometimes in exchange for mining rights. US research show say out of 33 African countries wey Russian military contractors dey, most na Wagner-controlled.

But after Wagner mutiny for Russia in 2023 and dia leader Yevgeny Prigozhin die for suspicious plane crash two months later, Moscow tighten control. Dem restructure dia military operations for Africa, put am under Kremlin control through Africa Corps.