Kim Sengupta speaks to a former Wagner fighter about how many of those who had fought for the group considering signing back up, with Western officials sure that the Kremlin will seek to exploit the current instability

As the drumbeat of war continues across the Middle East, with clashes in multiple countries raising fears of a wider conflict, the mercenaries of Russia’s Wagner Group are once again getting back to action.

Eight months after Wagner’s march on Moscow ultimately failed; six months after Yevgeny Prigozhin and his senior commanders were blown out of the sky in Vladimir Putin’s retribution, the fighters are being recalled to arms with the Kremlin’s blessing.

The snowy fastness of Ukraine has been replaced by the sand and savanna of Africa. There is a new banner to fight under – Africa Corps, a name echoing Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s German Afrika Korps which took part in the momentous campaign against British and allied forces in Libya in the Second World War.

The Hamas attack on Israel three months ago has led to combat across land, air and sea around the region, with carnage continuing in Gaza and missile strikes and targeted assassinations in the Gulf, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and even Pakistan.

In this increasingly incendiary scenario, the former Wagner Group is consolidating its presence in Libya and Sudan, part of a highly volatile region, as well as reinforcing in African states where it has replaced departed Western forces.

Many former Wagner fighters are said to have expressed interest in joining the Corps. Sergey, a fighter who had served with Wagner in Syria and Ukraine before leaving just before the attempted coup, said: “They seem serious people, well organised, and so a lot of the men are considering the offer.

“They are using good psychology. They point out that many soldiers find it very hard to adjust back to civilian life: we know, of course, that is the case. They warn about what happened to some who had served in Afghanistan, Chechnya. They got into drinks and drugs, ended up in prison, their marriages ended. Getting back into service is a way of avoiding this.”