Dozens of fighters from Russia’s Wagner mercenary group have arrived in the Central African Republic ahead of a constitutional referendum on July 30 that could see the president seek another term in 2025.
Hundreds of Wagner Group fighters departed CAR days after a short-lived mutiny in Russia in June, led by the group’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, raising questions about the future of Wagner’s military and commercial operations in countries including CAR.
The government had said previously that the fighters’ movement was part of a rotation of forces rather than a withdrawal.
“Every year there is a rotation. Some go and others arrive with logistics, and they do this regularly at all levels, on the military and administrative assistance,” presidential spokesperson Albert Yaloke Mokpem told the Reuters news agency on Monday about the new arrivals.
“They are also here to secure the constitutional referendum,” the spokesperson said, declining to say how many fighters had arrived.
However, he acknowledged that photos seen on social media showing dozens on the tarmac were the newly arrived mercenaries.
A senior CAR military official in the capital separately told Reuters that hundreds of fighters had arrived.
Instability in the nation
The country of 5.5 million people is rich in gold, diamonds and timber. It has struggled to find stability since independence in 1960.
