Central African Republic-Russia: Faustin-Archange Touadéra welcomes the support of Russian mercenaries during his visit to Moscow
According to the Pan-African site Young AfricaCentral African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra traveled to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin, who welcomed their “security collaboration”.
During this official visit, Thursday January 16, Faustin-Archange Touadéra spoke with his “dearest friend” Vladimir Putin on the subject of Russian mercenaries, described as “instructors” soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic in recent years. He expressed his gratitude to these “brave warriors” for their contribution.
“Today, the army trained by Russian instructors is a powerful force that tracks down and neutralizes terrorists and other criminals in the Central African Republic”he affirmed, while emphasizing his country’s desire to continue collaboration with these Russian specialists, described as “true war professionals”. For his part, Vladimir Putin also highlighted this cooperation in security matters.
Furthermore, President Touadéra insisted on Moscow’s crucial role in stabilizing the country, declaring that Russian support had helped avoid a new civil war between 2020 and 2021. Promising to strengthen bilateral relations in various sectors, he highlighted the still unexploited strategic and mineral wealth of the Central African Republic.
As a reminder, in 2020, faced with the threat of destabilization by armed rebel groups, Russia sent mercenaries from the Wagner group to support the regime of Faustin-Archange Touadéra. These forces played a decisive role in pushing the rebels out of the main cities, but they are regularly the subject of accusations of abuses and massacres against civilians, by the UN and various international NGOs.