Wagner group rescued Chinese gold miners in Central African Republic in July. What does it show?

The Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary fighters' organisation, reportedly rescued and evacuated a group of Chinese miners in central Africa about two weeks ago.

The South China Morning Post reported citing analysts said that the Wagner move was an effort to rebuild its image after the failed coup attempt against the Russian military leadership.

Images and a statement were released by the group on social media platform Telegram last week. The footage indicated that the operation happened earlier this month and involved a Chinese-operated mining site near Bambari in the Central African Republic.

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Unidentified gunmen attacked a gold mine north of Bambari in March, killing at least nine Chinese nationals, and injuring two others.

A statement by the Wagner group mentioned that the Chinese embassy contacted the private military, a company composed of mercenaries, for help when it received intel on July 1 about another attack being planned by local militants.

Wagner then sent its soldiers to look for the miners, who were seeking refuge in a nearby jungle. They were eventually evacuated to the capital city Bangui two days later.

The question here is, why the Chinese embassy contacted the Wagner for help?

As quoted by SCMP, Tian Buchou, a veteran of China's special forces said that "for China, this is just an occasional case. The Wagner Group is not its only choice [for security help] in central Africa".

Tian has reportedly spent nearly two decades managing security for Chinese companies in the Middle East and Africa.

Tian added that "this evacuation operation could be very important to the Wagner Group, which has been struggling to expand its business in resource-rich Africa" where France, the Netherlandsand Spain also have mercenaries.

As quoted, another Chinese military veteran, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Wagner group wanted to please Russian President Vladimir Putin that's why they disclosed the operation.

The veteran said: "Only Chinese state-owned enterprises are allowed to operate mines in Africa, and these operations are backed by the Chinese government. Chinese companies are major potential clients [for Wagner]."

Crimein Mali

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday (July 13) that armed Islamist groups have carried out widespread killing, rape and looting in northeast Mali this year forcing thousands of people to flee.

HRW also mentioned that the Wagner Group has been implicated in "atrocities" in several African countries, including Mali, and also documented "serious abuses" by Malian security as well as "apparent Wagner forces during counter-insurgency operations in central Mali".

(With inputs from agencies)

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