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The Chadian foreign minister warned Thursday against outside interference, referring to Russian paramilitaries operating in neighboring countries.
Cherif Mahamat Zene declared that “external interference, wherever it comes from, poses a very serious problem for the stability and security of my country”, when asked about the Russian group Wagner.
He told AFP and Africa Confidential on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that all measures would be taken “to ensure” the protection of Chad.
“There are Russian mercenaries present in Libya, who are also present in the Central African Republic,” he said.
Zene said the rebels who killed former President Idriss Deby Itno in fighting in April were trained by the private security group Wagner.
“We have reason to be concerned about the presence of these mercenaries,” he said, adding, however, that Chad did not have proof that the mercenaries were in the country.
Russian paramilitaries, private security instructors and companies have become increasingly influential in Africa in recent years, particularly in the conflict-ridden Central African Republic (CAR), where the United Nations has accused Wagner’s contractors of having committed abuses.
Zene said an attack on Chad near the Central African border on May 30 was “certainly supported” by the Russians.
“We have all the evidence of the presence of these Russians alongside the Central African forces and that concerns us,” added the minister, adding that Chad has detected telephone communications between the Wagner groups in the CAR and in Libya.
Moscow admits to having deployed “instructors” in CAR but says they are not active in the fighting. Moscow insists that there are no paramilitaries in Libya.
This week, France warned Mali that the use of the Wagner group would isolate the country internationally after reports that the military-dominated Malian government was about to hire 1,000 paramilitaries.
“I met my Malian colleague at the UN. He assured me that there was no government engagement with Wagner. We cannot prejudge something that does not exist,” Zene said. , when asked about the reports.
In a pre-recorded video speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, the transitional president of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, the son of the former president, called for more aid to Sahel countries to fight the rise of jihadist groups.
Deby senior has passed away at the age of 68 after more than three decades in power and on the verge of winning a sixth term.
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