UN accuses Central African Republic forces, Russian allies of rights violations

The UN’s envoy to the Central African Republic, Mankeur Ndiaye, has accused the nation’s security forces and their Russian allies on Wednesday of multiple human rights violations.

The Central African Republic’s close relationship with Moscow dates back to 2018, when Russia sent “instructors” to help train its beleaguered armed forces and supplied small arms, gaining exemption from a UN weapons embargo.

The country has been chronically unstable since it gained independence from France in 1960.

Ndiaye told the UN Security Council that human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law are “attributable to the Central African armed forces, bilateral forces and other security personnel”, referring to the hundreds of Russian paramilitaries deployed to the country.

The Central African Republic has become a key area in the controversy over the role in Africa of the Wagner mercenary group which is allegedly run by the shadowy businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin.

Prigozhin was sanctioned by Washington which accused him of playing a role in meddling in the US 2016 presidential elections, in particular through his internet “troll factory.

He has however, denied any involvement.
Russians also provide Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera’s personal protection, and his powerful national security advisor, Valery Zakharov, is a Russian.

Olajumoke Adeleke/CGTN