MERCENARIES APPEAR IN CENTRAL AFRICA

The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group suspected of human rights violations in the Central African Republic and elsewhere, was sanctioned by the European Union this week. Because of CAR government soldiers’ ties to Wagner, the EU has announced that it will no longer train them.

Its fighters are also involved in Libya, Sudan, and Mozambique in Africa, and they appear to be involved in Mali as well.

The Wagner Group is in CAR for what reason?
The mercenaries are there to aid President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in his war against insurgents who, despite recent government advances, still control large areas of the country.

Since President François Bozizé’s ouster in 2013, the country has been engulfed in civil strife. Despite the deployment of French troops and a UN mission, Mr Touadéra, who had been in charge since 2016, had struggled to defeat rebel forces.

Russian mercenaries, according to the government of the Central African Republic, have had greater success.

Wagner is thought to have begun working in the Central African Republic in 2017, following the UN Security Council’s approval of a Russian training mission and the lifting of the arms embargo imposed in 2013.

President Touadéra visited Russia in October 2017 to sign a number of security agreements with Russian officials.

A request for military assistance was made in exchange for access to the CAR’s vast diamond, gold, and uranium deposits.

Only 175 Russian trainers for the local military had been approved by the UN.

Despite official Russian denials, suspicions of linkages between Wagner and the Kremlin have surfaced, including from the EU.

According to analysts, these relationships allowed armed Wagner agents to begin operations in the CAR following the signing of the Russia accord.

The company’s position in the mineral-rich country has grown dramatically since then.
The Russian government claims to have dispatched 550 unarmed military instructors to CAR at any given time.

According to UN experts, Russia may have dispatched over 2,000 instructors to the CAR, including recruits from Syria and Libya, where Wagner has been active.

The UN and France have also accused the organization of inflaming the conflict by committing human rights violations and extrajudicial killings of suspected rebels.

What are the allegations against the Wagner Group?
According to the UN and the French, unarmed civilians have been raped and looted in the country’s rural parts by Wagner operatives as well as government soldiers.

The United Nations identified more than 500 incidences of human rights violations in the CAR in a report released in August. Extrajudicial executions, torture, and sexual assault were among the crimes committed.

Soldiers’ statue
In the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, a memorial to the Russian troops was unveiled last month.

A UN panel of experts stated in October that people detained by Russian instructors and the national army often did not receive justice. They said that because victims were hesitant to file formal accusations, the abuses went unpunished.

For the first time that month, CAR Justice Minister Arnaud Abazene admitted that “Russian instructors” were involved in some of the atrocities.

While he claimed that the rebels were responsible for the majority of the instances, it was the first time the government had acknowledged violations by its own troops or supporters.

Mr. Abazene further stated that the Russian instructors had been returned and would be tried in their homeland.

What prompted the European Union to act?
The Wagner Group’s operations are increasingly alarming Brussels, according to EU spokesman Nabila Massrali, who told the BBC. Wagner has been accused of war crimes in Libya by the UN, in addition to problems in the CAR.

Wagner operatives killed civilians and inmates and planted unregistered explosives in Libya, according to a Bazzup investigation.

“Their legal position, as well as their modus operandi, objectives, and targets, are all hazy,” Mr Massrali explained.

“Clearly, in the face of such ambiguity, it is extremely difficult to prevent and assure accountability for potential violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.”

The EU was quick to point out that it had not worked with mercenaries associated with Wagner.

It has now halted its military training mission in CAR, citing concerns that the mercenaries were commanding EU-trained battalions.

Since 2014, the EU has donated more than €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion; $1.6 billion) in humanitarian aid to the Central African Republic.

What is the Wagner Group’s relationship with Russia?
There aren’t any, officially. Close relationships, however, are suspected.

Valery Zakharov, a former member of the Russian state security service and President Touadéra’s security advisor, was one of those sanctioned by the EU.

Mr. Zakharov is “a senior figure in the Wagner Group’s leadership structure and has close relations with Russian officials,” according to the EU.

Wagner rose to popularity during the conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014, when it was fighting pro-Russian separatists. Since then, the business has expanded its operations to include the Middle East and Central and Southern Africa.

It is thought that Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman with ties to President Vladimir Putin, is funding it. Mr. Prigozhin has always maintained that he has no ties to Wagner.

The Russian government likewise rejects any official affiliation with the group, claiming that it does not exist legally in Russia because private military contractors are prohibited.

Wagner has a presence in Africa.
Wagner mercenary operations in Sudan and Mozambique were also referenced by the EU alongside Libya.

They are suspected of being involved in training, as well as the protection of authorities and mining sites, in Sudan. Wagner has aided the army in Mozambique’s struggle against the northern Islamist insurgent insurrection.

Mali, a long-time Western ally in the Sahel’s fight against jihadism, has revealed plans to hire 1,000 Wagner operatives to aid with security. Following the revelation that nearly half of France’s 5,000 troops would be leaving the country, this happened.

The possibility of Wagner Group personnel being stationed in Mali has frightened the United States. The presence of the mercenaries would destabilize the region, according to the report.

Abdoulaye Diop, Mali’s Foreign Minister, stated that international efforts had failed and that the country needed to consider alternative choices.

Many analysts compare Wagner’s possible incursion into Mali to how the group began acting in the Central African Republic.