Mercenaries’ new atrocities

WE’VE heard a lot of late about atrocities committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. Among their ranks are said to be mercenary fighters from the Russian military contractor the Wagner Group. But in faraway Central African Republic (CAR), a similar litany of horrors is infolding – largely unnoticed by the outside world.

Or at least it was until the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) released detailed eyewitness accounts as part of a report of what is happening on the ground that makes for grisly, all-toofamiliar reading.

The witnesses described how Russian contractors killed at least 12 unarmed men at a roadblock last year. They also recounted how Russian mercenaries unlawfully detained and tortured civilians in several other incidents in recent years.

A civil war in the CAR that began in 2013, pitting numerous militias against a state on the verge of collapse, had eased considerably in recent years. But about a year ago, fighting resumed abruptly when rebels launched an offensive to overthrow president Faustin-Archange

Touadera.

It was after the president called on Moscow for help that hundreds of Russian paramilitary forces helped push back the rebels, who still hold sway over swathes of the country.

Security analysts say the Russian military contractor is increasingly active in Africa, helping Moscow to expand its political influence and gain access to government revenue and natural resources. Reports of similar atrocities have also surfaced in the West African country of Mali.

According to data compiled by the NGO Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), as many as 456 civilians died in nine incidents involving Malian forces and Wagner between January and mid-April this year.

Ida Sawyer, crisis and conflict director at HRW, said the Russian-identified forces seemed to be operating with complete impunity.

And so it’s not only Ukraine, it would seem, where the Wagner Group is making its violent presence felt. As Russia expands its influence across Africa and the contractor is further deployed as part of that process, it is more than likely that similar stories highlighted by HRW will continue to surface.