At a rally in support of Russia in Bangui, March 5, 2022. CAROL VALADE/AFP
The proposal has the appearance of a fairly classic bargain, the terms of which could be summed up as: “We’ve got a lot more to offer you, but break with your current allies first!” According to information from Le Monde, in mid-December 2022, Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra received a memorandum from the American government explaining to him the benefits of secession from the Wagner Group paramilitaries and the consequences he would claim, his alliance with to maintain them. This offer, transmitted on the sidelines of the US-Africa summit held in Washington from December 13 to 15, would have been prepared by the National Security Council, an institution attached to the American Presidency and dedicated to foreign policy issues national Security.
If this is not a formal ultimatum, according to our sources, the United States will give the Central African head of state 12 months to distance itself from the mercenaries from Russia, which comes after the signing of an official agreement between the two countries began in early 2018 with the use. Now in Bangui, led by a former Foreign Legion man, Vitali Perfilev, Evgueni Prigojine’s men, after closely guarding President Touadéra and extending support to the Central African Army, have expanded their activities into mining, forestry, securing convoys, customs control and even the production of ‘local’ vodka and beer. A growing grip accompanied by numerous human rights violations reported by human rights organizations.
In its strategy to “hinder the Kremlin’s ability to arm and equip its war machine waging an unjustified war against Ukraine,” the US Treasury Department added on March 26. a former security adviser to the Central African Presidency, Valery Zakharov; the head of the community of international security officers, Alexander Ivanov; Sewa Security Services, “a company (…) controlled by the Wagner Group that provides protection to senior Central African government officials”; and Kratol Aviation, which allows Wagner to “move personnel and equipment between CARs [République centrafricaine]Libya and Mali”.
thoughtfulness
But in calling the group led by Yevgueni Prigojine “a major transnational criminal organization,” the United States is not closing the door on talks with those who subscribe to its services. A striking contrast to France, which justified the withdrawal of its soldiers and the suspension of its aid programs in the Central African Republic and Mali with the presence of Wagner’s paramilitaries in those countries.
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