Sytyi in 'stable but serious' condition, Russian Embassy issues call
The Russian embassy said it delivered a note via the country's foreign ministry urgently requesting an investigation to be launched on the attempted assassination of Sytyi.
The Russian embassy in the Central African Republic said on Sunday that the condition of the head of the Russia House in CAR, Dmitry Sytyi, remains "serious and stable" and he is currently required to urgently evacuate the African country.
"The condition of the head of the Russian House Dmitry Sytyi remains serious and stable. Doctors continue fighting for his life. Dmitry Sytyi will need an emergency evacuation to Russia to restore his health," the embassy said on social media.
On the same note, the Russian embassy said it delivered a message via the country's foreign ministry urgently requesting an investigation to be launched on an attempt on Sytyi's life.
"The Russian Embassy sends a diplomatic note to the Foreign Ministry of the Central African Republic demanding an urgent and comprehensive investigation to identify the organizers and perpetrators of the terrorist attack against the Russian citizen," the embassy said in a statement.
Sytyi reportedly received a parcel bomb on Friday which exploded as he opened it.
"It seems that he started going through mail at the table, opened a parcel, began pulling what was in it, and the explosion occurred," CAR's police said on Friday
The police gave Sputnik photos from the blast site that showed a note at the crime scene with threats in French.
Sytyi received threats prior to the attack, according to the police.
Images présumées du colis piégé et des dégâts causés par l’explosion.
— Casus Belli (@casusbellii) December 16, 2022
La seconde photo montrerait également une note avec des menaces envers Dmitry Sytyi https://t.co/8hASkOdxHj pic.twitter.com/0pWromukr2
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow anticipates that those responsible for the attempted murder of Dmitry Sytyii, the head of the Russian House in the Central African Republic (CAR), will be identified and punished.
"We strongly condemn this criminal action, which clearly aims to hinder the activities of the 'Russian House' in Bangui, and more broadly, to harm the successful development of friendly relations between our two countries. We hope that as a result of a prompt investigation by the competent authorities of the CAR, those responsible for organizing and committing this atrocity will be determined and will be punished," the statement said.
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In late November, Russia's chief of the Officers Union for International Security, Alexander Ivanov, told reporters that an unknown aircraft that carried out a terror operation on a Russian base in CAR used fuses similar to those owned by NATO.
According to the official, an unidentified plane dropped a bomb on a cotton factory in the town of Bossangoa on the night of November 27-28.
"No one was injured, but the authorities of the republic are concerned because NATO-made M904 fuses with partially erased inscriptions in English were used for the attack. This is another example of the transfer of Western weapons to militants from their patrons," Ivanov said, adding that the terror operation in Bossangoa is "a new militant tactic aimed at civilian infrastructure to cause economic damage to the CAR."