Russia, Central African Republic sign military cooperation pact

Moscow and the Central African Republic (CAR) signed a military cooperation agreement on 21 August, less than a month after three Russian journalists were killed in the strife-torn CAR while probing alleged Russian mercenaries.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his CAR counterpart Marie-Noelle Koyara signed the document on the sidelines of defence expo Army-2018 outside Moscow, Russian agencies reported.

The deal ‘will help strengthen ties in the defence sphere,’ Shoigu was quoted as saying after the ceremony.

There were no immediate details.

The agreement is set to deepen Moscow's involvement in the impoverished CAR, where the government is desperate to boost its armed forces in the fight against militias which control most of the country.

A UN arms embargo imposed in 2013 was lifted in 2017 exclusively for Moscow.

It has since then sent instructors and some equipment and now provides security for President Faustin-Archange Touadera.

The deal follows the murder in late July 2018 of three Russian journalists who were ambushed in CAR while investigating a shadowy Russian mercenary group called Wagner and its possible relation to both government and rebel forces.

The investigation was funded by ex-oil tycoon Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Both CAR authorities and Moscow have labelled the killings a robbery, but Khodorkovsky's own inquiry claimed this argument ‘does not stand up to scrutiny.’