Abuja, Nigeria — Russian mercenaries Notorious brutal Wagner groupSome people are calling Vladimir Putin’s “Private Army” The allegedly raped woman was admitted to the maternity ward of a hospital in the Central African Republic (CAR), according to military officials who spoke to The Daily Beast.
3 people on the night of April 10 Wagner Group Russian MercenariesCurrently also active in Ukraine, is said to have attacked at a hospital in the Henri Isamo military camp in Bangui, the capital.
Officials stationed at CAR’s military headquarters, but keeping an eye on the activities of so-called Russian “military instructors,” said the men were forcibly accepting women (two just giving birth) to the Daily Beast. Told to. Treatment in the maternity ward of the clinic.
“”[The military headquarters] I received a report from last month [hospital] The center details how three Russian instructors attacked the maternity ward and began sexually assaulting women on admission, “one official told The Daily Beast on anonymous terms. Told.
Many of the mercenaries operating in Africa under Wagner, a private military company run by one of Putin’s closest companions, Yefgeny Prigodin, have withdrawn to support the fight against the war in Ukraine. bottom.As originally reported by The Daily Beast— But there are still many activities on the continent.
Notorious Russian mercenaries withdraw from Africa and prepare for Ukraine
“Among the victims, the military was informed that there were two mothers who had just given birth to a baby on duty and a healthcare worker,” the military said, “I am convinced that the report is genuine.” Added.
Another official at CAR’s military headquarters is aware of Wagner mercenary operations in a rebellious country in Africa, where Russian mercenaries invade the clinic’s maternity ward and sexually assault women in the Daily Beast. He said he was the third to receive a report that he had done so.
Investigators determined the allegations to be “genuine” on all three occasions, according to people familiar with the matter, but officers are “afraid to offend Russians” and it is almost impossible to take action against mercenaries. was.
A human rights activist who spoke with a former rape victim at the Henri Isamo military camp told The Daily Beast that she had attacked her when she was being treated in the clinic at some point last year. He began to rape her in her bed, and on the floor, where the mercenaries reportedly dragged her out.
“When the Russians arrived, she was very ill and asleep,” said Cedric Niamate, a Bangui-based human rights activist who helps connect victims of various abuses to human rights lawyers. “She only remembered opening her eyes and seeing a naked white soldier covering her mouth with her hands raping her.”
Publications in several regions citing witnesses give an explanation of how the latest incident happened.
HumAngleA news site focused on West Africa and Central Africa, headquartered in Nigeria, Quoted gendarme That day, the Russian arrived in the maternity ward of the clinic “with a pistol and whiskey” and was working saying he had met two women who had just given birth and another female health worker. ..
“They began to rudely touch women and signal sex from two women who had just gone to bed,” said gendarme. He also claimed that the Russians tried to rape the nurses on duty who faced them, saying that the women had just given birth and were still bleeding. “She had a hard time releasing herself [and] I rushed to the labor room, “he said.
“While this is happening,” the adjutant chef (chief warrant officer) and still-maternal nursing assistant tried to beg the Russians to be human, but they turned her on. Was sexually abused one after another. “
Corvo News Central AfricaOne of CAR’s famous independent news media that spoke to witnesses, reported The sexual assault of the nursing assistant lasted for hours, with mercenaries allegedly taking turns abusing her. The press also reported that one of the newborn women said her trials were painful and humiliating.
Rape victims rarely get justice in CAR. More than 4 years ago Human Rights Watch documentation From early 2013 to mid-2017, 305 cases of armed group members raping and sexually enslaving women and girls. Of the 296 victims interviewed, only 11 of the 296 women interviewed said they attempted criminal charges. According to the organization, members of the armed group have not been arrested or attempted for committing sexual violence. Instead, the number of victims continued to grow.
Gender-based violence information management system in 2020 (surveillance system maintained by humanitarian partners including UNFPA)Recorded 2,281 cases of sexual violence.. More than one-third of those atrocities were committed by members of armed groups.
It is not surprising that justice is not offered to women reportedly raped by Wagner mercenaries at Henri Isamo’s military camp. I’m not sure that everyone will be punished, even those who have the power to take action or encourage them to take action.
“Disciplinating a Russian instructor who has committed a crime does not mean that the military can act confidently,” a senior military official at CAR personally told The Daily Beast. “Only the president can decide how to deal with the Russians.”
For more information, see The Daily Beast.
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