"Any external interference, wherever it comes from, poses a very serious problem for the stability and security of my country," Chad's foreign minister, Chérif Mahamat Zene, said on Thursday (September 23rd) of the involvement of the private company Wagner in Africa.

Everything will be done "to ensure that Chad is protected throughout its territory", he added after recalling the attacks suffered by his country in April and May, during an interview with the AFP and the Africa Confidential media granted on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“There are Russian mercenaries present in Libya, who are also present in the Central African Republic. We have reason to be concerned about the presence of these mercenaries because the attackers who attacked Chad in April and caused the death of the former president (Idriss Deby) were trained, mentored by the private security company Wagner, "he said.

When asked whether Chad had proof of penetration by these Russian mercenaries into his country in the spring, the minister replied in the negative. 

"On May 30, Chad was the object of an attack near the Central African border […] certainly supported by the Russians," he also recalled.

"We have all the evidence of the presence of these Russians alongside the Central African forces and that concerns us," the minister insisted.

"[Wagner hired his] staff in Libya and the Central African Republic [and] it is obvious that there are telephone communications between the two entities. We have proof of that, the two Wagneres communicate, that is for sure ", said the minister.

Trouble gambling in Mali

Asked about a possible contract which could be concluded between the Malian executive and Wagner, for a deployment of Russian "instructors" in Mali, Chérif Mahamat Zene underlined that "until today, the Malian government affirms that it there was no agreement with this group ".

"I met my Malian colleague at the UN, he assured me that there had been no government engagement with Wagner. We cannot prejudge something that does not exist," a- he declared.

>> To read on France24.com: In Mali, a new war of influence between France and Russia

In a pre-recorded video speech to the UN General Assembly, the Chadian transitional president, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, son of the late president, on Thursday called for increased aid for the countries of the Sahel by in the face of the rise of jihadist groups.

"While welcoming the efforts made by the various forces intervening in the Sahel, Chad underlines the urgent need for more multifaceted support both to the joint forces (of the G5 Sahel) and to their individual member states" ", he said.

The threat "is not limited to the Sahel, but is already spreading to Côte d'Ivoire, Benin. It is not excluded that it affects Central Africa", underlined the Chadian chief of diplomacy in evoking Cameroon, already struck.

With AFP

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