Foreign non-state actors are increasingly shaping security dynamics in West Africa, prompting concerns over governance, regional stability, and the effectiveness of international engagement. To address these challenges, the KAS New York Office and the Counter Extremism Project convened experts and policymakers to examine the influence of Hezbollah and the Africa Corps/Wagner Group and explore potential policy responses.
The discussion featured expert contributions from:
- Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director, Counter Extremism Project (CEP)
- Dr. Matthew Levitt, Senior Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- John Lechner, Author, Death Is Our Business
Representatives from Member States, the United Nations, think tanks, and civil society joined to examine the influence of Hezbollah and the Africa Corps/Wagner Group, and to consider how international actors can respond to their activities in West Africa.
West Africa is facing a growing challenge from malign foreign non-state actors. Chief among these are Hezbollah, a regionally rooted but globally operating terrorist organization, and the Africa Corps/Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group now acting in semi-official capacity. Both actors hold entrenched positions in the region and must be factored into any future strategic planning. Yet, each presents a distinct set of challenges which complicates international cooperation and future peacekeeping and development activities.
Key takeaways from the discussion included:
- Hezbollah leverages historic ties to the Lebanese diaspora in West Africa to conduct widespread financial operations. While the region is not the focus of its terrorist activity, it is integral to its global infrastructure — including money laundering, sanctions evasion, and drug trafficking networks. Hezbollah exploits weak governance environments and under-resourced law enforcement to sustain its operations.
- Mitigating Hezbollah’s influence requires strengthening governance, law enforcement capacity, and judicial cooperation across jurisdictions.
- Despite being framed as security providers, Africa Corps operations often worsen conflict dynamics and fuel grievances. Their tactics have exacerbated radicalization, and in several cases, terrorist propaganda has portrayed them as foreign aggressors, bolstering recruitment for jihadist groups. Their support to certain military regimes also complicates external engagement by other foreign stakeholders.
- A strategic response will require reducing dependency on Russian security support and investing in non-military forms of engagement that address governance and development gaps.
Discussions also emphasized several policy avenues for consideration:
- Targeted law enforcement and anti-corruption training, including cooperation with Europol, Interpol, and regional partners.
- Improved cross-jurisdictional investigations, particularly through mechanisms such as the Law Enforcement Coordination Group (LECG) and Eurojust.
- Support for anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing (AML-CFT) frameworks, including capacity-building.
- Strategic partnerships with new actors such as India or Turkey to diversify engagement and reduce reliance on malign external security actors.
As competition for influence in West Africa intensifies, international engagement will need to adapt. The discussion underscored that cohesive strategies must be grounded in governance support, multilateral coordination, and regional partnerships an will be essential to countering the corrosive impact of external non-state actors on the region’s security architecture.