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Russia’s secretive military operations on the rise in Africa

14th August 2019

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Private Russian military and security operations in Africa are on the increase with little of this being researched or making news headlines.

However, a new report by CNN which took a month to complete said a Russian tycoon by the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin, has been instrumental in the growth of Russian private security operations on the continent.

According to the US, Prigozhin has helped fund the Internet Research Agency, a Russian company based in Saint Petersburg, which allegedly participated in the Kremlin’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election.

CNN claims that Prigozhin is also connected with PMC Wagner, a Russian security contractor with presence on the ground in Syria and eastern Ukraine.

But it’s the Russian maverick’s reputed military actions in Africa that have been highlighted, including in Sudan, Libya and the Central African Republic (CAR), as he attempts to recoup financial losses in Syria and eastern Ukraine.

He has allegedly played a major role in many of Russia’s 20 military agreements with African states where he provides security and weapons training on behalf of Moscow.

“In return, his group of companies, headed by a firm called Concord, receives exploration permits and the rights to exploit precious metals found throughout Africa,” said CNN which sent correspondents to the CAR where they found that a radio station and a major military training base are run by a group of 250 Russian contractors.

None of the contractors would say who paid them although one claimed to be the security adviser for CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

Edited by African News Agency

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