LONDON: The British government on Thursday announced sanctions of 13 individuals and businesses in Central African Republic (CAR), Mali and Sudan with links to Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, including one it described as the “right-hand man” of the group’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The British government said it had added Wagner officials to its list, accusing them of being responsible for executions and torture in Mali and CAR and of threats to peace and security in Sudan.
The sanctions come weeks after Prigozhin’s failed mutiny in Russia, which raised questions about the future of Wagner’s military and commercial operations in African countries including CAR.
But footage published by Prigozhin’s press service on Telegram on Wednesday appeared to show the Wagner boss telling his fighters they would take no further part in the Ukraine war for now but to prepare for “a new journey to Africa“.
Newly sanctioned Konstantin Pikalyov, who now faces asset freezes in the UK and a travel ban, is an important adviser of Prigozhin’s, as well as being the operational head of Wagner in the CAR, the British government said in a statement. “Wherever Wagner operates, it has a catastrophic effect on communities, worsens existing conflicts and damages the reputations of countries that host them,” the United Kingdom’s minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell said. –Agencies
