Russian news agency – TASS – acknowledges presence of Wagner mercenaries in Africa

On July 13, TASS reported that Wagner fighters rescued 12 Chinese miners from militants in Central African Republic (CAR). Units of the Wagner private military company evacuated a group of Chinese nationals from a mine.

The news was first reported in The South China Morning Post (SCMP) newspaper in Hong Kong. What stands out is that the Chinese article was redistributed by the official Russian news agency, TASS, further indicating that Wagner’s presence in Africa is still supported by the Russian leadership. Russian mercenaries coming to the rescue of Chinese nationals is another fascinating development.

According to the SCMP Chinese military sources said it was ‘very common for Chinese government and state-owned enterprises to seek help from local private security forces to protect Chinese nationals and overseas assets.”.

“For China, this is just an occasional case. The Wagner Group is not its only choice [for security help] in central Africa,” it quoted Tian Buchou, a veteran of China’s special forces who has been managing security for Chinese companies in the Middle East and Africa for about 20 years.