In Africa, Russia is swapping a ruthless paramilitary for a replica it can control. What’s Putin’s game plan?

In Africa, Russia is swapping a ruthless paramilitary for a replica it can control. What’s Putin’s game plan?

Abuja, Nigeria — 

Wagner, a feared Russian mercenary group that is notorious for staging a failed mutiny against Moscow and accused of committing serious abuses against civilians in Africa, is being replaced on the continent by another Russian paramilitary.

Its successor, experts say, is the Kremlin-controlled Africa Corps.