Troubled African state to host Russian military base

Plans are underway for the construction of a Russian military base in the Central African Republic (CAR), which has endured decades of violence and instability, Aleksandr Bikantov, Moscow’s ambassador to the country, has said.

The defense ministries of Moscow and Bangui have begun discussing a location for the army facility, Bikantov told TASS news agency in an interview published on Tuesday, without specifying when this will be completed.

The diplomat stated in January that around 1,890 Russian instructors, including military specialists of various profiles, were in the CAR to train the national police and soldiers, with the authorities requesting that the number be increased.

Fidele Gouandjika, a senior adviser to CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera, confirmed the government’s decision to strengthen Russia’s military presence in the African country to train its troops. He told African Initiative news agency earlier this year that the government has provided a plot of land in Berengo, 80 kilometers west of the country’s capital, Bangui, for the construction of the camp. Gouandjika has repeatedly hailed defense cooperation with Russia, claiming last July that as a result of Moscow’s assistance, the country was no longer afraid of coups, despite NATO and the West’s efforts to destabilize Africa.

The CAR has experienced decades of militant violence and political insecurity, including six coups, since gaining independence from France in 1960. The UN Security Council (UNSC) established a peacekeeping force in 2014, and there are currently more than 13,000 troops deployed in the country to protect civilians from militant violence. Rebel attacks against the government, however, continue.

In 2018, the landlocked state and Russia signed a military agreement that paved the way for Moscow to train Bangui’s armed forces. Moscow has previously supplied light arms to the African country’s security forces.

While requesting increased support for regional efforts to combat terrorism and improve security in troubled African nations last December, Russia’s deputy permanent representative at the UNSC, Anna Evstigneeva, reiterated Moscow’s commitment to continuing defense cooperation with the CAR in the fight against rebel uprisings.