Russia’s Wagner Group committed atrocities in Central African Republic

Russian mercenaries committed atrocities in the Central African Republic as the government tried to defend itself against rebels, the regime has admitted.

The report is a rare acknowledgment of excesses committed by foreign fighters that are widely seen as the proxy private army of the Kremlin as it seeks to revive its Soviet-era influence in Africa.

It also bolsters claims by the United Nations that units from the Wagner Group were responsible for civilian killings, gang rape and torture.

Hundreds of Russian troops are in the central African state to shore up the besieged regime of President Touadéra against rebels seeking to overturn last year’s election results, which he claims to have won.

Moscow’s support for Touadéra’s government is thought to be part of a deal that allows Russia access to its huge natural resources.

Fighting has been fierce and the country’s authorities agreed to an investigation amid mounting evidence of atrocities, including the killing of children by the Russians during battles in and around the capital, Bangui.

In one recent incident, Russian mercenaries were said to have begun shooting indiscriminately after bursting into the Al-Taqwa mosque in the town of Bambari, 240 miles northeast of Bangui. Retreating rebels and civilians had taken shelter in the mosque after a battle for control of the town.

The government’s report found 103 incidents carried out by Russian “instructors”, as they are officially known, as well as its own troops and the rebels. These included extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and torture.

“On the proven incidents, some are attributable to the Russian instructors,” the report said, without listing specifics or evidence. Some of the foreigners accused of abuse had been sent home, and evidence to support legal action in Moscow would follow, the report added.

Russia’s foreign ministry has not responded to the investigators’ allegations and previously denied the UN report’s findings.

Russia and France, the former colonial power in the Central African Republic, have long competed for influence in the gold and diamond-rich nation of 4.7 million. Russia has gained the upper hand since the ousting of President Bozizé in 2013 threw the country into turmoil.

The Wagner Group is believed to be controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian billionaire with close links to President Putin, and is providing military support in a number of Africa’s fragile states.