False: With Russia's support, CAR significantly succeeded in combating militants

Voice of America

05-03-2025

Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, Russian deputy defense minister and President Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Africa, visited C.A.R. on March 2 to give assurance of continued military and economic support for leader Faustin-Archange Touadera.
State-owned news outlet Sputnik Africa reported on Yevkurov's visit, highlighting Russia's military presence in C.A.R. as "significantly" successful in subjugating militant groups opposing the government. Sputnik Africa attributed the quote to an unnamed Russian deputy ambassador to the United Nations.
The claim is false.
Russian military involvement in C.A.R. formally started in 2018, with the Kremlin-backed mercenary group Wagner, now rebranded Africa Corps, a unit under the command of the Russian Defense Ministry, arriving to provide support to President Touadera.
The security situation since the Russian troops' arrival in C.A.R. has seen little improvement, according to multiple reports.
Contrary to the Kremlin and its media claims, the Russian forces did not contribute to establishing peace and stability but instead became one of the most violent armed groups in C.A.R. spreading terror and corruption, The Associated Press reported in April 2024.
The Africa Corps, the successor of Wagner, continues waging a "campaign of terror" in Central African Republic, the VOA sister organization Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported in February.
"Between 2018 and 2024, Russian troops were involved in more than 100 fights and committed more than 362 incidents of violence against civilians. The violence resulted in at least 786 fatalities," RFE/RL reported, citing data by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, a U.S.-based nonprofit.
In exchange for military support to president Touadera, the Kremlin gained control over C.A.R. mineral resources, extracting "half a billion dollars a year in gold, timber, and blood diamonds," NBC News reported last May.
Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries on Earth, has been engaged in a civil war since 2013, mainly over control of its vast natural resources, including elements vital for modern hi-tech, such as uranium, cobalt and gold.
The Touadera administration proposed an internationally sponsored plan to help the rebels transition to a civilian life and signed a peace deal with 14 militia groups in 2019.
About 5,000 militants used the opportunity, but at least 15% of them returned to the rebel groups, and some 70% are suspected of either serving simultaneously in the government forces and in militias, or joining the Russian units, the U.N. said in 2024.
Most of the millions of dollars the West spent to disarm the rebels and end the violence in C.A.R. are lost to corruption, including the $3.5 million sent by the U.S., and at least six of the 14 groups who signed the 2019 peace agreement with president Touadera letter broke their commitment, the AP reported last April.
At least 14 rebel groups continue to control two-thirds of the country, including certain districts in the capital, Bangui, according to the Global Conflict Tracker interactive database produced by the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. analytical institution.
The U.N. Security Council said in October, "the situations in the northwest and eastern parts of the country appear to be particularly concerning because of competition among armed groups over control of natural resources and main road axes."
"Civilians continue to bear the brunt of continued instability in the country, including the use of explosive ordnance and the involvement of various armed groups in kidnapping for ransom," the U.N. reported.
According to Forbidden Stories, an international network of journalists, the Kremlin has been stepping up propaganda efforts to increase its influence in the Central African Republic and other African countries.
In its investigation, published in November last year, the outlet said that Russia has been covering the harsh reality on the ground through a network of paid local journalists, whose reports are amplified by the Russian state-owned news agency Sputnik and paid content creators on social media.
Russian troops have been involved in "widespread, systematic, and well-planned campaigns of mass killing, torture, and rape throughout the country," the U.S. Department of State said in a report on Russian military and propaganda activities in Africa, published February 2024.
The U.S. designated Wagner an international criminal organization in January 2023 for "an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic and Mali."
Conclusion
Russian military activities in the Central African Republic reportedly resulted in increased violence, instead of helping to stop the civil war. Reliable reports show that Russian troops have systematically committed atrocities while profiting from exploiting natural resources. The U.N. noted Russian corrupting influence as one of the reasons for the failure of a peace agreement.