Britain has announced new sanctions against “nefarious” individuals in the Wagner Group, which are linked to the massacre, rape and torture of people in Africa, Sky News reports.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the unit of Russian mercenaries that helped the Kremlin invade Ukraine also operated “with impunity” in countries such as Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Sudan.

Among the persons who have been sanctioned are high-ranking officials of the group in Mali and the Central African Republic, in particular Kostyantyn Oleksandrovych Pikalov, the so-called right-hand man of Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

According to the British government, Pikalov is responsible for the torture and selective killing of civilians.

The head of Wagner’s group in Mali, Ivan Oleksandrovych Maslov, was also sanctioned.

Prigozhin, who led an uprising against Moscow last month, has already been sanctioned along with several of his key commanders for their role in the war in Ukraine.

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