US urges Russia to stop violence in CAR immediately, withdraw its military personnel

In a statement released on June 30, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on Russia to immediately cease violence against civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR) and withdraw its military soldiers. According to a report released on June 25 by the UN Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic, Russian military instructors, along with the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), are responsible for human rights violations such as indiscriminate killings of civilians and looting of humanitarian organisations.

The US urges Russia to immediately end violence

Thomas-Greenfield said, "Russia must immediately stop the violence, hold those responsible accountable, and remove mercenaries endangering UN peacekeepers and undermining their crucial work in support of peace and security in the CAR."

Russian military instructors and CAR forces targeted people with disproportionate force, indiscriminate killings, school occupations, and large-scale looting, according to UN sanctions monitors. Russia has dispatched hundreds of military instructors to arm and train government forces fighting rebels in the 4.7 million-strong country rich in gold and diamonds. The allegations in the UN report were rejected by the Kremlin as a "lie."

 Violence in Central African Republic

The United Nations had presented documentation showing violations committed by Russian instructors acting as an extension of Russia's Ministry of Defense in the CAR, said the US envoy. Earlier in the day, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the report was based on false charges, contained inadequate evidence, and photoshopped elements. More than 500 Russian instructors are working in the CAR under the UN Security Council authority, said the Russian Foreign Ministry. On Wednesday, June 30, Vassily Nebenzia told local reporters that the report was filled with "unfounded claims."

Reportedly, since March 2013, when a group of predominantly Muslim rebels known as Seleka seized power, CAR has been engulfed in conflict. The army has been battling the CPC rebels, backed by UN peacekeepers, Russian and Rwandan forces, in an attempt to overturn a December 27 poll that crowned President Faustin-Archange Touadera the winner.

(With inputs from ANI)

Picture Credit: AP