Global Courant 2023-05-26 14:37:17
ISTANBUL
The US Treasury Department accused Russia’s private military company, Wagner Group, of supplying missiles to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and “contributing to a protracted armed conflict”.
That came Thursday, when the Treasury Department sanctioned Ivan Aleksandrovich Maslov, Wagner’s head in Mali, accusing him of trying to acquire weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Most recently in Sudan, Wagner Group is providing surface-to-air missiles to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces to fight against the Sudanese army, contributing to a protracted armed conflict that has only caused further chaos in the region,” the Treasury Department said in a statement. .
Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Sudan’s legitimate authorities have the right to use the services of the Wagner group.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “deep concern” about the military company’s activities in the war-torn country.
“It’s an element that, when engaged, brings more death and destruction in many different countries and in Africa,” Blinken said at a joint press conference with his Kenyan counterpart, Alfred Mutua.
Earlier this week, the International Organization for Migration said more than a million people have been internally displaced since clashes erupted last month between the Sudanese army and the RSF.
A dispute has flared between the two sides in recent months over the RSF’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan’s transition agreement with political groups.
There has been no functioning government in Sudan since autumn 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move described by political forces as a “coup.”
The transition period that began in August 2019 following the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir was scheduled to end with elections to be held in early 2024.
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