The United Nations expressed, Wednesday, October 27, their concern vis-à-vis the sulphurous Russian private security group Wagner, which they accuse of harassing and intimidating "violently" civilians in the Central African Republic.
The Central African forces, supported in particular by hundreds of Russian paramilitaries from the Wagner group, according to the UN and France, have led since the beginning of the year a vast counter-offensive against rebel groups.
Moscow officially recognizes the presence of only 1,135 "unarmed instructors".
"We are extremely concerned about acts of intimidation and recent reports of violent harassment by private military and security personnel against individuals and communities," UN experts said in a statement.
Experts have also received reports that members of the Wagner Group have committed rape and sexual violence against women, men and girls in many parts of the country.
Counting this violence is almost impossible "because the survivors are terrified at the idea of taking legal action for fear of reprisals," they added.
"End all relations with military and private security personnel"
In March, UN experts had already spoken out on systematic and serious violations of human rights, including of the Wagner group, including "arbitrary detentions, acts of torture, enforced disappearances and executions summaries ".
They recalled Wednesday that this phenomenon continued "relentlessly and with impunity".
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"We call on the Central African government to end all relations with private military and security personnel, in particular the Wagner group," they concluded.
At the beginning of October, the authorities in Bangui acknowledged some of the accusations formulated in March by the UN, in particular on crimes and acts of torture, committed "mostly" by rebels but also Central African soldiers and their allies "Russian instructors".
Ranked the second least developed country in the world by the UN, the Central African Republic has plunged into a bloody civil war since 2013, which has declined in intensity since 2018 - even if large swathes of territory continue to escape the central power of Bangui .
On October 15, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra decreed a "unilateral ceasefire" of his army and allies in their war against the rebels.
The Human Rights Council's "special procedures" independent experts are the largest body of independent experts within the UN human rights system, but are not UN staff.
With AFP
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