“Forces in the Central African Republic, whom witnesses identified as Russian, appear to have performed by firing squad, tortured, and beaten civilians since 2019,” according to Human Rights Watch. The Central African Republic’s civil war, which began in 2013 and pitted numerous militias against a collapsing state, has eased significantly in recent years.
However, fighting resumed abruptly about a year ago when rebels launched an offensive to depose President Faustin Archange Touadera.
After the president requested assistance from Moscow, hundreds of Russian paramilitary groups assisted in pushing back the rebels, who still control large swaths of the country.
The private military contractors are frequently referred to as members of the “Wagner group,” a Russian entity with no known legal status.
“Forces in the Central African Republic, whom witnesses identified as Russian, appear to have executed by firing squad, brutalized, and beaten civilians since 2019,” according to Human Rights Watch.
“Several Western governments, as well as UN experts and special rapporteurs, have found proof that Russian-linked forces operating in the Central African Republic include a significant number of members of the Wagner Group, a Russian private military security company with apparent ties to the Russian government,” it continued.
Both the army and the rebels are accused of committing crimes against civilians by the UN, non-governmental organisations, and CAR’s former colonial ruler, France.
“The Central African government has every right to seek international security assistance, but it cannot allow foreign forces to kill or otherwise abuse civilian populations with impunity,” said Ida Sawyer of Human Rights Watch.
“To demonstrate its respect for the rule of law and put an end to these abuses, the government should instantly investigate and prosecute all forces responsible for murder, illegal imprisonment, and torture,” Sawyer said.
HRW reported that on July 21, last year, 12 unarmed men were shot dead at a checkpoint near Bossangoa, northwest of the capital Bangui, by Russian-speaking men.
The New York-based group also claimed that in June of last year, men were arbitrarily detained, tortured, and killed in the street in the central town of Alindao.
