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Moscow (AFP) – The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Friday urged Moscow to declare France a “sponsor of terrorism” after a package bomb wounded a Russian official in the Central African Republic.
“I have already requested the Russian Foreign Ministry to initiate the procedure to declare France a state sponsor of terrorism,” Prigozhin said in a statement issued by his company, Concord.
He said a “thorough investigation” should be conducted into “the terrorist methods of France and its Western allies, the United States and others.”
Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued a statement after a package attack wounded the director of a Russian cultural center, Dmitry Sytyi, in the Central African Republic on Friday. The spokesman for the Russian embassy in Bangui confirmed the attack on Sytyi and said he was hospitalized.
Prigozhin said it was not clear if Sytyi would make it.
“Russian doctors are doing everything possible in the Bangui hospital to save him,” Prigozhin said.
“Before losing consciousness, Prigozhin claimed that Sytyi saw a note that allegedly read: ‘This is for you from all the French, the Russians will get out of Africa.'”
Prigozhin said that Sytyi first received a package from Togo on November 11. The package contained a photo of her son residing in France and a note saying that she “next time will receive her son’s head” if the Russians do not leave Africa.
Prigozhin said he opened a new package on Friday because he thought it would contain his son’s head.
“If Dmitry Sytyi lives, he will continue the fight and see with his own eyes how those who made an attempt on his life will burn in the flames of history,” Prigozhin added.
“If he dies, he will forever remain a symbol of this fight.”
In recent years, friction between France and the Central African Republic has increased over the growing Russian military presence.
In 2018, Moscow sent trainers to the country, and in 2020 followed up with hundreds of paramilitaries to help President Faustin Archange Touadera defeat rebels advancing on the capital.
France, the UN and others say they are mercenaries for the Kremlin-backed Wagner group, which have been linked to atrocities and looting of resources.
The last French troops deployed in the Central African Republic left in December.
Sanctioned by Washington and Brussels, Prigozhin has become one of Putin’s most loyal lieutenants after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.
In November, the European Parliament recognized Russia as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” accusing its forces of committing atrocities during their offensive in Ukraine.
© 2022 AFP
