Central Africa: foreign aircraft targets troops and Russian allies

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The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) announced, on Monday, that "a plane coming from a neighboring country bombed at night a camp containing Russian soldiers and allies in the north and left, causing only damage."

The government said in a statement that the plane "dropped explosives in the city of Bossangoa, targeting a base for our defense forces and those of our allies, as well as a cotton factory."

The aircraft, according to reports, exited CAR from the north, towards Chad, following the raid, noting that "the explosives caused major material damage."

It is noteworthy that the Minister of Mines and Geology of the CAR, Rufin Benam-Beltoungou, said in a previous statement that "Russia helped his country to recover 90% of its lands that were in the grip of armed groups."

"People used to say that 80% of the territory is under the control of armed groups, and today I can tell you that the government, with its Russian and Rwandan allies, has been able to restore state sovereignty over most of the territory of the Central African Republic," Benam-Beltoungou said, on the sidelines of the Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Putin: US fuelling conflict in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Washington on Tuesday of attempting to prolong the conflict in Ukraine and fueling conflicts around the world, most notably with the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.

Addressing the opening ceremony of a security conference in Moscow via video link, Putin said that "the situation in Ukraine shows that the US is trying to prolong this conflict. And they act in exactly the same way, fuelling the potential for conflict in Asia, Africa, and Latin America." 

Putin has sought to strengthen ties with African and Asian countries, most notably China.

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