Russian Mercenaries Accused of Summarily Executing, Torturing and Beating Civilians in the CAR

“Russian-identified forces” may have committed grave abuses against civilians in the Central African Republic, Human Rights Watch has said in a new report. Witnesses cited by Human Rights Watch (HRW) implicated “Russian-speaking men in uniform” in relation to a massacre in the Central African town of Bossangoa in June 2021, the organization said on Tuesday. The Bossangoa incident claimed at least 12 lives, HRW said. While HRW believes the attackers were white and spoke Russian, they also cited the prefect of Bossangoa as providing a different account. According to the official, survivors of the attack said the gunmen were a part of a local militia. The legal status of Russian-speaking operatives in the CAR is not fully clear. HRW cited UN experts as saying the African country signed a bilateral agreement with Russia in August 2018 which allowed “Russian instructors” to be deployed on its soil. The legal status of Russian-speaking operatives in the CAR is not fully clear. HRW cited UN experts as saying the African country signed a bilateral agreement with Russia in August 2018 which allowed “Russian instructors” to be deployed on its soil.

SOURCE: DW