🪖 CAR murder prompts trucker protests against Wagner🪖
Cameroonian truckers working in the Central African Republic (CAR) have gone on strike over the murder of a colleague — which they have blamed on the Wagner Group. The incident demonstrates the problem of accountability regarding private military companies (PMCs).
The murder took place in Bogoin, on the road to Bangui, and the truckers have labelled it an “assassination.” In response, they have refused to continue working in CAR, parking their loaded lorries at the Cameroonian border town of Garoua-Boulai instead. They have called for an investigation into the shooting and a bilateral agreement between Cameroon and CAR guaranteeing their safety.
The strike, in turn, has had consequences for the local economy and population. According to AFP, prices at local markets have increased sharply. CAR is heavily dependent on imports, with Cameroon supplying nearly 40%. Over 70% of CAR’s population live below the poverty line.
The problem of accountability is one that plagues the use of PMCs in Africa. This is not unique to Russian PMCs, but both their practices and the peculiarities of the Russian PMC market exacerbate it. On the ground, they operate with impunity and have few ties to local populations. They are also typically acting in support of authoritarian regimes with scant regard for civil liberties. As a result, domestic mechanisms for holding Russian PMCs to account are usually notable by their absence.
Other routes are equally limited. Despite their prominence, for example, Russian PMCs are not legal in Russia, which blocks Russian courts as a channel, even in theory (and Russian court treatment of whether PMCs exist or not has often veered into the Kafkaesque). International organisations like the UN have documented the human rights abuses of Wagner, but this has not had practical consequences for the perpetrators.
Which leaves groups like the Cameroonian truckers with few avenues other than public protest — which is not only dangerous in a place like CAR, but also negatively impacts themselves and local populations more than it really harms Wagner. It seems highly question whether the government in CAR would be in a position to guarantee the truckers’ safety, even if they wanted to. After all, if they were in a position to provide adequate security, they wouldn’t need Wagner in the first place.
Elsewhere in the world of Russian security
đź’Ł Terrorism & insurgency đź’Ł
Free Nations of PostRussia Forum Declared a Terrorist Organisation: Russia’s Supreme Court has designated the Free Nations of PostRussia Forum a terrorist organisation. The 172 “subsidiaries” that comprise the forum — which includes the Congress of the Peoples of the North Caucasus — have also been designated. The Forum claims to be pursuing an “anti-colonial and national liberation struggle” against Russia, seeking independence for 41 of its regions. It was created in Poland in 2022 and has promoted its agenda in a variety of countries, including Canada, the United States, and Japan. The designation is unlikely to have any significant practical implications, since it’s an expatriate organisation and its participants are publicly critical of Russia. That, however, does not mean that it won’t be cited in court cases. Russia routinely designates separatist movements as terrorist, irrespective of whether they advocate violent or nonviolent resistance. The Forum has already publicly labelled Russia a “terrorist state."
Terrorism ruled out in Rostov attack: A man attacked a police officer with a knife in Rostov-on-the-Don. The policeman sustained a wound to his neck, while the attacker was hospitalised with a gunshot wound from the policeman’s service weapon. Caucasian Knot cited local sources as ruling out a terrorist motive to the attack, instead pointing to mental illness or criminality as the cause — though none of the sources appeared to know the identity of the attacker, making their claims somewhat speculative.
Dagestani court rejects terrorism verdict as too soft: Dagestan’s Supreme Court vacated a sentence given to a local man accused of participating in the 1999 invasion of Dagestan, which was led by Shamil Basayev and Emir Khattab. Aleksandr Umantsev was sentenced to 14 years for membership of the Shelkovskiy Jama’at and involvement in an attack that led to the death of three police officers; since Umantsev was already serving time, his combined sentence added up to nineteen and a half years. The prosecutor’s office appealed the decision as being too lenient. The Supreme Court agreed and sent the case back to the Novolakskiy District Court for a retrial. Umantsev has been in prison since 2006 and has twice been sentenced to 17-year terms; it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting out any time soon. Russian courts routinely consider cases relating to historic involvement in the North Caucasus insurgency, and the 1999 invasion is one that is frequently cited.
Taliban delisting edges closer: Russia has moved a step closer to de-designating the Taliban a terrorist organisation. The State Duma is now considering amendments to existing legislation, so as to allow Russian courts to temporarily suspend terrorism designations on the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office. There is currently no legal mechanism for reversing terrorism designations. The main target of such an amendment is likely to be the Taliban: it has long been rumoured that Russia plans to remove it from its list of designated terrorist organisations. In reality, however, the Taliban’s place on the list hasn’t stopped Russia engaging diplomatically with it for years. Nevertheless, its removal might make some Russian companies less twitchy about investing in Afghanistan.
British man arrested on terrorism and mercenary charges: Kursk’s Leningrad District Court has arrested a 22-year-old British man for participating in Ukraine’s invasion of Russia. James Scott Rhys Anderson, a former British Army soldier, reportedly joined the Ukrainian International Legion in early 2024, after becoming unemployed. He now faces charges under Article 205 (2a and 2b — Terrorist Act) and Article 359 (3 — Mercenary Activities) of the Russian Criminal Code. A pro-Russian military Telegram channel posted a video of Anderson’s interrogation on 24 November.
Court extends arrests of three more Crocus City Hall accomplices: Moscow’s Basmannyy District Court extended the arrest to 1 March 2025 of Zubaydullo Ismailov, Umedzhon Soliyev, and Khuseyn Khamidov, all of whom are accused of preparing a terrorist attack in Kaspiysk and supplying weapons to the perpetrators of the March 2024 terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall. The court decision followed a similar one last week for two other suspects facing the same charges. The Crocus City Hall case is one of the largest terrorism investigations in recent years, with more than 1,700 people recognised as victims and more than 800 witnesses. You can find full details on the investigation in the updated Event in Review article on the Threatologist website.
Two Dagestanis detained on terrorism charges: The security services have detained two Dagestani residents on suspicion of purchasing components for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and planning a terrorist attack on an administrative building. According to investigators, the two men starting plotting in 2023, undertaking training in how to make explosives. In July 2024, they acquired the IED components in Kurush, Khasavyurtovskiy Rayon; the report makes it sound as if they were arrested at the time, but if so it is unclear why it is only being reported now. The men face charges of receiving terrorist training (Article 205.3 of the Criminal Code), preparing a terrorist attack (Articles 30 (1) and 205 (2), and illegal preparation of explosive materials and devices (Articles 30 (1) and 223.1 (2)).
🪖 Private military companies (PMCs) 🪖
Wagner suffers new setback in Mali: At least seven Wagner Group/African Corps members were killed in Mali, according to SITE Intelligence Group. Reuters also reported an unverified video showing at least five white male casualties. The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), an al-Qaeda-linked group, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The incident comes as Wagner struggles against Tuareg and Islamist insurgents in the region, with significant losses reported as recently as July. Pro-Wagner Telegram channels said remarkably little about the incident, although one did appear to offer video confirmation — probably the same video mentioned by Reuters — that the attack had taken place.
Four Georgians sentenced for mercenary activity in Ukraine: A Russian court has sentenced four Georgian citizens in absentia for fighting with the Georgian Foreign Legion in Ukraine. In April 2022, Russia’s Investigative Committee opened an investigation into Mamuka Mamulashvili, the Legion’s commander, on charges of mercenary activity and inciting ethnic hatred. In March 2023, a Moscow court arrested four more members of the Legion in absentia on charges of mercenary activity for fighting with the group, in a case involving more than 20 suspects. Now, a Russian court has sentenced Mamulashvili to 23 years and Vano Nadiradze, Georgi Rusitashvili, and Nodar Petriashvili to 14 years each, and placed all four on the international wanted list. I doubt either had plans to holiday in Russia or any of its closest allies any time soon.
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