OUR European Union announced yesterday on Saturday the introduction of new sanctions against the leaders of a group of Russian mercenaries Wagner and organizations associated with him due to “human rights violations” in Africatargeting in particular the head of its forces in Mali and its officials in the Central African Republic.

Eleven people, 9 in Africa and 2 in Ukraine, as well as seven entities associated with the mercenary company, have been added to a European blacklist and face asset freezes and travel bans.

The Wagner Group itself, actively participating in the war of the Russian army in Ukraine, is under EU sanctions. already in 2021.

The new sanctions were imposed because of the “international scope and seriousness of the group’s activities, as well as their destabilizing effect on the countries in which it operates,” according to a press release from the European Council.

“The activities of the Wagner Group pose a threat to the peoples of the countries in which they operate and to the European Union,” Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, said in a statement.

The European Council clarified that eight Wagner members and seven organizations affected by the new sanctions are registered in the global sanctions regime due to human rights violations that were created in 2020 and are related, in particular, to the company’s actions in the Central African Republic and Sudan.

The ninth member of Wagner faces EU sanctions. especially for the shares of the company in Mali. He leads her forces in an African country where her people are “involved in violent acts and numerous human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings.”

Minerals and diamonds

Some of those targeted by European sanctions in the Central African Republic are Wagner’s top leadership, including President Fostan Arkanz Touadéra’s “security adviser” and the group’s representative in the country.

Wagner traveled to the Central African Republic at Tuandera’s invitation to help put down an armed uprising, and her increasingly imposing presence prompted the withdrawal of French military forces late last year.

Gold and diamond mining and trading companies linked to Wagner in the Central African Republic and Sudan also came under European sanctions.

A radio station in the Central African Republic, Lengo Sengo, was also blacklisted because it “participated in Internet influence operations on behalf of Russia and the Wagner group to manipulate public opinion.”

The Wagner mercenary company, founded in 2014, has been designated by the United States as an international terrorist organization. The US, which has been trying for years to limit Russian influence in Africa, accuses the Wagner group of “violating human rights and extorting natural resources in Africa.”

The group became a major player in the war in Ukraine. His mercenaries also participated in operations in Syria and Libya.

Two more Wagner executives have been added to the EU sanctions list. because of the war in Ukraine. These are the commanders of the Wagner detachments, who played a leading role in the capture of the Ukrainian city of Solentar in January.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}