The mercenary group, which launched an armed mutiny over the weekend, has built a spider’s network of military, business and political relationships over the past decade that encompass several countries, including Libya, CAR, Mali, Sudan or Syria. “The last thing the government wants to see at the moment is the exit of Russia from the country,” a senior CAR government official told the media. The CAR government has a very close relationship with the Wagner Group that reportedly provided the country, over the past five years, weapons and hundreds of military advisers and Wagner mercenaries as an extension of the government’s security forces. The Wagner fighters are said to have been intimidating locals and targeting citizens opposed to the private military company’s presence, while also exploiting the country’s mineral resources. “The Russians play a very important role in the security architecture of our country and if they are forced to pull out completely, things could become messy,” said the senior government official, noting that the longer the mutiny lasted, the more worried CAR officials were.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 26, 2023 14:26 UTC