Russia's influence in Central Africa: Church warns of atrocities!

Russia's influence in Central Africa: Church warns of atrocities!

Munich/Bangui – In an alarming clarification, the Catholic bishops of the Central African Republic have condemned their government's cooperation with Russia. The cooperation, which was initiated in 2021 with the introduction of the notorious Wagner Group, was militarily successful in the fight against the civil war, but was associated with serious human rights violations against the civilian population. This was announced by the aid organization “Church in Need”. kathpress.at reported. Bishop Nestor-Désiré Nongo-Aziagbia of Bossangoa stressed that the civilian population should not be punished for the government's decisions and appealed to the international community to continue supporting the country.

The situation is further complicated by the historical perspective of the forms of government in the Central African Republic. As in many nations, an unstable form of government often leads to violent conflict. The civil war that began in 2013 was the result of the takeover of the capital by the predominantly Muslim Séléka militias. Christian anti-Balaka groups then fought back to power, but all parties to the conflict committed countless human rights violations. According to the United Nations, up to 700,000 people have fled their home areas so far. The ongoing conflict is compounded by repeated attempts by religious communities to collaborate with the government on health and education to ease the suffering of the population, which Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga described as a step in the right direction.

The shocking reality of the Wagner Group

The Wagner Group, which is also active in other African countries such as Mali, has repeatedly been linked to serious human rights violations. Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch criticize the cooperation of these mercenaries with national armed forces. This violence is not only a national but also a humanitarian crisis that should continue to alarm the international community. The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world, where of the five million inhabitants, over three quarters are Christians and around 13 percent are Muslims, which further complicates the situation with religious tensions.