Dmitry Sytyi, a close friend of Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin – founder of the private mercenary company Wagner Group – was hospitalised in the Central African Republic (CAR) following an assassination attempt where a parcel bomb was sent to him which detonated in his hands.
He was working as the head of the “Russian House” culture centre in capital city Bangui. Sytyi was sanctioned by the American government for his links to the Wagner Group.
The Wagner Group has been linked to several civil wars in northern and central Africa and has helped respective armed forces and rebels by fighting alongside them.
They are accused of committing brutal and inhuman crimes and civil society has urged that the forces and Yevgeny Prigozhin be tried for war crimes.
Sytyi was sanctioned in October 2020.
Prigozhin, also known as Putin’s chef, has also been sanctioned following the war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin informed about the assassination attempt via a press release from Concord, his catering company.
He claimed that the attack was coordinated from France, without providing any evidence.
“I have already contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation so that it initiates the procedure for declaring France a state sponsor of terrorism, as well as conducting a thorough investigation of the terrorist methods of France and its western allies – the United States and others,” Prigozhin was quoted as saying, according to the Concord statement accessed by the Guardian.
The French foreign ministry has denied any involvement in the attack.
Prigozhin called Sytyi a patriot of Russia and the Central African Republic and said his life was hanging in the balance following the attack.
The reports by the Guardian and other news agencies have earlier revealed that the Wagner Group in coordination with rebel militias, armed forces and other parties, engages in the extraction of valuable metals and gems across a swath of west, central and east Africa.
They were called to fight the Islamist insurgency in Mali, Burkina Faso and now the Central African Republic (CAR).
These were once French colonies and even after their independence, they were considered to be a part of the French sphere of influence.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said that it is distressing for Ghana to hear that Mali has entered into an arrangement with Wagner and a mine in the southern part of Burkina has been allocated to them as a form of payment for their service, the Guardian reported.
Sytyi also was the founder of the Prigozhin-linked mining company Lobaye Invest which won mining projects in the CAR and Sudan.
Read all the Latest News here
For all the latest world News Click Here
