Opposition groups in Togo voiced concern Tuesday over the alleged presence of hundreds of Russian mercenaries and personnel from a Turkish private military company in the country’s north, where authorities have been battling jihadist incursions.
A coalition of opposition parties and civil society organizations cited media reports of “foreign forces on the ground” in a statement sent to AFP.
The coalition said the forces included members of Russia’s Africa Corps, a state-controlled paramilitary force, and personnel from SADAT, a Turkish private military company. Togolese authorities have not confirmed the claims.
Since late 2021, northern Togo has faced repeated incursions by jihadist groups operating across the Sahel, where Islamist violence has spread over the past decade before expanding into coastal West African countries, including Togo.
Referring to the reported deployments, the groups said they were “concerned by the lack of transparency surrounding these strategic decisions and the excesses that may result from them.”
They called on the government to ensure that “no foreign force be involved in surveillance, intimidation, arrest or repression operations against the population.”
Togo signed a military cooperation framework agreement with Turkey in 2021 and a similar agreement with Russia in 2025.
Under the agreement with Moscow, Russia can deploy military instructors as well as naval and air assets to Togo.
In response to jihadist attacks, Togo declared a state of emergency in the northern Savanes region in June 2022. The measure was extended for another year in February.
About 8,000 Togolese troops are currently deployed in the region under Operation Koundjoare, launched in 2018.
© Agence France-Presse