Musings From Abroad

UK sanctions persons, businesses linked with Russia’s Wagner in Africa

Published

1 year ago

July 20, 2023

The United Kingdom has announced sanctions on persons and businesses connected to the operations of the Russian mercenary group, Wagner in three African countries.

The sanction was meted out on 13 persons and companies in the Central African Republic, Mali, and Sudan with links to Wagner.

Wagner has been accused of extra-judicial killing and rights abuses in its operations in Africa. The most notable being different allegations from the United Nations, the European Union, and some Western states over Mali and Wagner’s handling of the fight against insurgency in Moura village where hundreds of civilians were reportedly killed.

The 13 persons in the sanction lists top Wagner officials including one it described as the “right-hand man” of the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Newly sanctioned according to a statement from the British authorities, Konstantin Pikalyov, who is currently facing asset freezes and a travel restriction in the UK, is Prigozhin’s key advisor in addition to serving as the operational head of Wagner in the CAR.

Britain’s minister for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell said, “Wherever Wagner operates, it has a catastrophic effect on communities, worsens existing conflicts, and damages the reputations of countries that host them.”

Along with Ivan Maslov, the leader of the Wagner Group in Mali, the sentence was also applied to Vitaly Perfilov in the CAR and Alexander Maloletko, whom it described as Prigozhin’s close friend.

Mikhail Potepkin, who Britain said was affiliated with the Wagner Group and served as a director of the mining firm, Meroe Gold, was placed on the Sudanese list.

The statement added that Meroe Gold was one of three companies it had sanctioned in Sudan for serving as fronts for the Wagner Group and endangering peace and security. It claimed that Meroe Gold had imported military vehicles, helicopters, and weaponry.

According to reports, Wagner has operated in at least eight different African countries over the past ten years, including Mali, Libya, and Burkina Faso, among others.

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Musings From Abroad

EU withdraws Niger diplomat after junta accuses it of mismanaging aid

Published

22 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The European External Action Service (EEAS) has announced that the European Union would return its ambassador from Niger after the governing military in the nation questioned how an EU team handled humanitarian supplies intended for flood victims.

In a statement released on Friday, the junta in Niger accused the EU ambassador in the West African nation of distributing a 1.3 million euro flood relief grant to many foreign nongovernmental organisations in an opaque way and without working with the government.

Consequently, it mandated an audit of the fund’s administration.

“The European Union expresses its profound disagreement with the allegations and justifications put forward by the transitional authorities,” the EEAS said.

“Consequently, the EU has decided to recall its ambassador from Niamey for consultations in Brussels.”

Niger has been under military rule since the junta seized power in a 2023 coup.

Musings From Abroad

Mpox remains health emergency, WHO insists

Published

23 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has insisted that the Mpox epidemic remains a public health emergency.

WHO first declared an emergency when a new strain of mpox spread from the severely affected Democratic Republic of the Congo to neighbouring countries in August.

The WHO Director-General has decided that the increase in mpox still qualifies as a public health emergency of worldwide significance after the WHO called a meeting of its Emergency Committee and followed its recommendations.

According to WHO, the decision was made in light of the growing number and ongoing geographic dispersion of cases, field operating difficulties, and the requirement to establish and maintain a coordinated response across nations and partners.

Mpox is a virus that is spread by close contact and usually manifests as pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms. Although it is typically minor, it can be fatal.

More than 1,000 suspected deaths and more than 46,000 suspected cases have been reported this year throughout Africa, primarily in Congo.

The WHO’s highest level of warning, known as a “public health emergency of international concern,” was previously used to describe a worldwide epidemic of a different type of mpox in 2022–2023.

This year’s notice was issued in response to the transmission of a novel viral variation known as clade Ib. Among other nations, cases of this variation have been verified in the UK, Germany, Sweden, and India.

Following criticism for moving too slowly on vaccinations, WHO approved Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine in September and listed Japan’s KM Biologics vaccine for emergency use earlier this month.