orcs still find time to commit atrocities on another continent
DOUANKARA, Mauritania (AP) — A new Russian military unit that replaced the Wagner mercenary group is carrying out abuses including rapes and beheadings as it teams up with Mali ‘s military to hunt down extremists, dozens of civilians who fled the fighting have told The Associated Press.
The Africa Corps is using the same tactics as Wagner, the refugees said, in accounts not reported by international media until now. Two refugees showed videos of villages burned by the “white men.” Two others said they found bodies of loved ones with liver and kidneys missing, an abuse the AP previously reported around Wagner.
“It’s a scorched-earth policy,” said a Malian village chief who fled. “The soldiers speak to no one. Anyone they see, they shoot. No questions, no warning. People don’t even know why they are being killed.”
West Africa’s vast Sahel region has become the deadliest place in the world for extremism, with thousands of people killed. The military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating the fighters affiliated with al-Qaida or the Islamic State group.
When the Africa Corps replaced Wagner six months ago, weary civilians hoped for less brutality. The United Nations says they have been abused by all sides in the conflict.
Sorry, Western allies? Are you able to accept that these entities you call Western allies exploited these African nations’ natural resources for decades? You mention al-Qaida or the Islamic State - these groups were created or empowered indirectly by Western actions, including military interventions, over the last few decades.
The Russian military has been a particularly rapey bunch for over a hundred years. How could anyone expect any different? Also note that the recruitment pressure from the Ukraine war means that Russia can only afford to send the worst of the worst to Africa. Men who are either so incompetent or such violent psychos that they can't use them in Ukraine.
There’s no doubt that this region in Africa is extremely violent and atrocities are happening. But labeling the Russian military as “barbarians,” “orcs,” or inherently evil is exactly the same kind of childish generalization of the Palestinians we see in the Israeli thread. Reality is more complex, and such sweeping statements aren’t supported by facts. Be that as it may I accept that the notion of collective punishment and collective branding is in vogue, so carry on.
This post was edited by ferdia on Dec 9 2025 10:19am