Wagner Able to Enhance Africa Presence, Prigozhin Tells Native Media

(Reuters) – Russia’s Wagner mercenary group is able to enhance its presence in Africa, its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin advised an African information outlet in an audio interview printed on-line earlier this week.

“We aren’t decreasing (our presence), furthermore we’re prepared to extend our varied contingents,” Prigozhin advised Cameroon-based Afrique Media. The phone interview was posted on YouTube however had been seen only one,400 occasions as of late Friday.

Reuters couldn’t instantly confirm the veracity of the audio, however a voice that seemed to be Prigozhin’s could possibly be heard beneath a French translation.

Within the interview, he stated Wagner was fulfilling all its obligations on the continent, and was able to additional develop relations with African international locations.

Combating on Russia’s facet, Wagner has taken half in a few of the bloodiest battles of the Ukraine warfare. However its future function was referred to as into query when Prigozhin staged a short mutiny final month and the Kremlin stated he would depart Russia for Belarus, the place a few of his fighters have began coaching Belarusian forces.

Nonetheless, he was photographed in St Petersburg this week throughout a Russia-Africa summit, together with alongside a journalist from Afrique Media.

Prigozhin confirmed to Afrique Media {that a} new rotation of Wagner forces had not too long ago arrived within the Central African Republic forward of a constitutional referendum on July 30 that might see President Faustin-Archange Touadera lengthen his time period.

“New forces have arrived, we management the territory of the republic,” he stated, with out stating the scale of the power.

Russian mercenaries, together with many from Wagner, intervened in 2018 on the facet of the CAR authorities to quell a civil warfare that has raged since 2012.

Wagner’s function in CAR, Mali and elsewhere in Africa is a supply of concern for Western governments, together with France and the US. Washington has accused the group of committing widespread atrocities and imposed sanctions on it as a prison organisation.

Prigozhin denies that, saying within the interview that every one Wagner’s exercise was lawful and of profit to the international locations the place it operates and to their relations with Russia.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan, Enhancing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.