CAR announces desire to deploy Russian military base

The Central African Republic (CAR) is interested in placing a Russian military base on its territory and in developing military cooperation with Moscow. About this in an interview with the newspaper “Izvestia” informed CAR Ambassador to Russia Leon Dodonu-Punagaza.

“Now we need a Russian military base, where from 5 to 10 thousand soldiers could be located. At the same time, they could, if necessary, be used in other countries. We asked for it. When [председатель парламента ЦАР Симплис] Sarandzhi came to the Russian Federation, he repeated that we need it,” he said.

The ambassador noted that after the outbreak of the armed conflict in Sudan, many refugees came to the CAR, including men with weapons who are accepted into military groups, who “for many years mined diamonds and became rich,” and now they live in Chad and Sudan, ” they gather there and attack the population.” In turn, the influx of refugees increases the numbers of these groups and creates an additional threat.

Dodonu-Punagaza also added that the presence of Russian instructors in the CAR allowed the country to become the first on the African continent that managed to resist the French military presence. The last French military left the CAR in mid-December 2022.

Officially, Russian military advisers have been in the CAR since 2018, where they train the army and other law enforcement agencies of the country. In December 2020, Russia sent 300 military instructors to the republic. According to the official wording of the Foreign Ministry, they are there “as part of assisting Bangui in strengthening the defense capability of the Central African Republic.”