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- Strains are appearing in the relations between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the European Union
- The European Union temporarily suspended its training mission for the Central African Armed Forces
- The reason pointed out was the presence of mercenaries from the Wagner company.
Strains are appearing in the relations between the Central African Republic (CAR) and the European Union.
The European Union temporarily suspended its training mission for the Central African Armed Forces. The reason pointed out was the presence of mercenaries from the Wagner company.
General Jacques Langlade de Montgros, commander of the European Union’s training mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA) said that the control exercised by mercenaries from the Wagner company over the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), has been a source of concern for the European Union since it was a violation of international humanitarian law. This has led to temporarily suspend training activities by EU. However, he said that training could resume when they have the assurance from the CAR that the soldiers trained by Wagner mercenaries will not be employed in CAR’s forces.
The Central African Republic has been the epicenter of a civil war since 2013. Though the intensity of rebellion has declined, it is not completely rooted out.
The Central African Armed Forces in conjunction with the Wagner group, have led a vast counter-offensive against rebel groups since the beginning of the year. They even tried to overthrow the regime of President Faustin Archange Touadéra to create disarray in the country.
UN officials maintain that members of the Russian paramilitary group have committed systematic and serious human rights violations. Importantly, Moscow recognizes the presence of only 1,135 unarmed instructors. However, NGOs operating on the ground, France and the UN claim that some of them are men from the private Russian group Wagner, a group imparting training on the use of weapons. Moscow denies those charges.
Presence of the Wagner company has been reported in several sub-Saharan African countries where Russian interest is there, including Mali and the Central African Republic. It is also active in Libya, Syria and Ukraine.
