Russia

The Russian offensive in Ukraine, which began on February 24, has already displaced more than three million people. And its impact on food security is worrying, as Russia and Ukraine account for a third of the world's grain exports. And a significant portion…

In Japan, one of the major industrialized countries most closed to asylum seekers, public opinion demands that the country play its part in the reception of displaced Ukrainians. as reported from Tokyo,Bruno Duval Last year, Japan again rejected 90% of the asylum applications submitted: in total, almost 4,000 political refugee applicants were rejected in general indifference, without this giving rise to any particular debate. Of the more than three million Ukrainians who have already fled their country, only 47 have so…

Two children were killed after a mine planted by the Russian Wagner group near the Libyan capital exploded on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Unity Government. The blast took place in the Ain Zera region, a civilian area where mercenaries had planted improvised explosives before leaving, according to the government's press center for the Burkan al-Ghadab (Vulcano of Rage). The children, identified as Maad and Zaida Aburas, died in the blast, officials said. There are still about 7,000…

A tablet provided by a mercenary for the Russian Wagner group in Libya provides evidence of the mercenaries' involvement in mining and booby trapping of civilian areas and other possible war crimes, BBC News reported on Wednesday. The investigation, mostly conducted through evidence from the tablet's contents, has revealed the extent of operations by the shadowy Russian mercenary group in Libya's civil war, which include links to war crimes and the Russian military. As the BBC reported, they also managed to gain rare…

Rebels killed six civilians and injured several others on Saturday in an attack on a village in the northeastern part of the volatile Central African Republic, according to the UN peacekeeping mission. "This morning at dawn, elements from 3R (Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation) launched a large-scale attack on C. African army positions in the village of Mann," said the spokesman for the UN's 12,000 strong MINUSCA mission. "Six civilians were killed and several were injured," he added. The village is about 550…

Customs revenues account for almost a third of Central Africa's state budget, but technical and financial partners regularly point to organizational problems and corruption. A customs agreement was signed on May 7 between the Russian Economic Commission and the Ministry of Finance, but it continues to provoke debate. Recent controversy, the video of a UN mission car loaded by Russian partners. The…

Russia is increasingly present in Africa through official diplomacy but also through private actors such as Evgueni Prigojine, who is considered the leader of the Wagner militia, and various companies that specialize in online disinformation. In a study that has just been published, Maxime Audinet, a researcher at the IRSEM (Institute for Strategic Research of the Military School) and author of a dissertation on Russian influence at the University of Nanterre, analyzes this Russian influence in Africa, in Central Africa.…

The Taliban claimed on Friday that they control 85 percent of Afghanistan after seizing important border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan, part of a sweeping offensive launched as US troops withdraw from the war-torn nation. Hours after President Joe Biden issued a strong defense of the US withdrawal, the Taliban said its fighters had seized the two major…

Published on Wednesday, the latest report from UN experts on the Central African Republic is serious. It describes about forty pages on the human rights violations committed by the various parties to the conflict. He also points to what experts call the "security sector faction" ... members of armed groups or militias recruited or instrumentalized by government members and security forces.…

It is a UN document that will not please Russia. This report, obtained by RFI, produced each year by UN experts working with the Central African Republic, points in particular to the violations of Russian mercenaries. Together with the Central African Army, they would have violated international humanitarian law, according to experts, which recorded abuses committed by armed groups, but also by the…