Russian official injured in ‘assassination attempt’ in Central African Republic

The head of a Russian cultural center in the Central African Republic (CAR) has been wounded in an assassination attempt in the capital Bangui, the Russian embassy has said.

“This morning, an assassination attempt was made against the general director of the Russian House Mr. Syty. He is in hospital,” Vladislav Ilin, the press attaché of the Russian embassy, told Sputnik on Friday.

Dmitry Syty, head of the “Russian House” culture center, had opened a parcel bomb addressed to him from an anonymous sender on Friday morning, the spokesperson for the Russian embassy said.

The bomb exploded, injuring him seriously. According to the Russian state media, he has since been taken to the hospital.

His conditions are described as non-life threatening. However, he allegedly suffered from a concussion.

According to the Russian embassy, the incident occurred outside the Russian diplomatic compound, at the senior diplomat’s home.

The embassy has said that it has tightened its security measures after the attack.

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• Russia Counters West in Africa

In a statement later in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on its senior official.

“We strongly condemn this criminal act, which is clearly aimed at hindering the activities of the Russia House in Bangui, and more broadly, harming the successful development of friendly relations between our two countries,” the ministry said.

The Russian diplomatic body further added that Moscow hopes for the investigations launched by the CAR government to be able to identify and punish the perpetrators of “this atrocity.”

In a statement, the Commonwealth of Officers for International Security (COIS), an organization that provides training services to the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), police and gendarmerie of the CAR, denounced the attack on the Russian official, saying that those behind the attack are “real terrorists.”

Moscow accuses France of ‘terrorist attack’

Meanwhile, the alleged head of Russian private military company Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused France of carrying out the attack and urged Moscow to declare Paris a “sponsor of terrorism.”

“I have already requested the Russian foreign ministry to initiate the procedure to declare France a state sponsor of terrorism, as well as a thorough investigation of the terrorist methods of France and its Western allies - the United States and others,” Prigozhin was quoted as saying in a statement in Telegram.

“Before losing consciousness, Dmitry Syty managed to say: ‘I saw a note: This is for you from all the French, the Russians will get out of Africa,’” Prigozhin added.

Wagner group, which is said to be responsible for providing military training to government forces in CAR, also claimed that Syty and his family had previously received threats over Russia’s ties with the government of CAR.

Prigozhin said Syty had received a package last month containing a photograph of his son, who lives in France, and a note saying Syty would receive his son’s head next if “the Russians do not get out of the African continent and open the doors for the French.”

The African country has been in turmoil for years. The Russian embassy has advised its citizens not to travel to the country, including the capital, since 2020.

Meanwhile, France, the former colonial ruler in CAR, has been highly critical of Russia’s growing influence in Africa.

Relations between Moscow and Western countries are at odds over Russia’s offensive in Ukraine in February.

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