"There is a war of everyone with everyone"

Africanist Tatyana Denisova - about the situation in the TsA and what Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group can do there

About what interests Russia has in the Central African Republic and what our private military companies can do there, Novaya Gazeta said Tatyana Denisova, head of the Center for the Study of Tropical Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

- Do you think that Russia is trying to expand its influence in Africa?

- Of course, Russia is trying to expand its influence in Africa. As a rule, this happens through economic cooperation, but so far we have a tense with this. We have lost many positions, and now it is very difficult to restore them. We have a very powerful opponent in Africa - China, which displaces our companies from some countries. We mainly affect the sale of weapons and the provision of military services. We try through education: there are many of our graduates in Africa. However, before we provided much more scholarships than now, respectively, there were more African students.

- How does Russia cooperate with the Central African Republic?

- After a long break, Russia has contacts with the Central African Republic. The Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the President of TsAsten-Arkanzh Tuaadera, trading has recently been established, we are selling weapons, a private military company works there.

- Can you assume what Wagner's PMC is doing in the TsAC?

- In general, private military companies can hire to protect the president, but this is rare, because the heads of African states prefer to rely on their people.

The main reason for conflicts in Africa is currently in general in the Central African Republic in particular is the struggle for resources. There is a war of everyone with everyone, especially in deposits: tribes are fighting each other, local militias, rebel organizations, armed groups that have long forgotten that they are rebels and that they want changes in the political situation. In fact, everyone wants money. How can you earn them?

Money is earned by mining. As a rule, private military companies are hired to protect deposits. This happened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Liberia during the Civil War, in Sierra Leone and other countries.

Therefore, by analogy, I can assume that one of the goals with which the Wagner PMC was hired was the protection of deposits of gold, uranium and diamonds in the TsA.

- What is the terrorist group "Seleka"?

-At the head of the "Selek" used to be Michelle Jotodius-a man who was once connected with our country. He was educated in Russia, married to Russian. It often happens that the people who studied with us are then configured against Russia for some reason (and vice versa, the people who studied in the West, then try to cooperate with us). In the case of Jotody, it was strange, because he has a Russian wife, he himself speaks Russian, and suddenly became a Muslim rebel.

The Seleka is a rather cruel organization. After Jotodius left the TsA, the "Seleka" broke up into many separate detachments that are financed by various groups and oppose the current Christian government, led by Tuaadera. The war continues.

- What do you think, could the "Seleka" be involved in the murder of Russian journalists?

- As a rule, militants take people, especially white, hostage, then to get a large ransom for them later - this generally turned into a good earnings in Africa.

So, for example, she made the Nigerian Islamic organization Boko Haram ( prohibited in the Russian Federation - approx. Ed. ). A similar situation occurred with Alscon, businessman Oleg Deripaska in Nigeria, when the left -wing group “Movement for the Liberation of Delta Niger” captured several employees of the company, and then demanded a ransom for them. It can be assumed that the “Seleka” is also doing this, but why then was the journalists to kill? I think that in this case it was a robbery, and the intermediary was a driver who survived.

- Why does Africa still have such a large number of groups?

- When people have been fighting for years, it is very difficult for them to get used to a peaceful life: they have no profession, no specialty, nor money, or at home, often and family. In some countries, they conduct campaigns on the integration of former militants into the army, in some countries they do not. They tried, but it is impossible to take everyone in the TsA. Former militants need to be checked, they are not used to discipline. If there is no one to fight with, then they just fight with each other or engage in robbery on a large road.

Journalists drove to the TsAV without guard, and even at night - this, of course, was too much risk. But they are experienced people, they worked in hot spots, hoped for their experience that they could somehow agree. They knew that they were risking, and went to this risk.