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French Soldiers Arrested In CAR, Accused Of "Assassination Attempt"
Published 2 years ago
Four French troops were briefly arrested and falsely accused of an "assassination attempt" against President Faustin Archange Touadéraon on Feb. 21, 2022 at Bangui airport in Central African Republic.
At the time of their arrest, the French soldiers were operating as the security detail for General Marchenoir, Chief of Staff of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). General Marchenoir was at the airport to board a flight to Paris at the time of the incident.
France accused the Central African Republic of carrying out an intentional harassment operation against the UN mission at the behest of Russia. France is competing for influence over their former colony. The CAR government has relatively recently signed a security contract with the Russian Wagner private military company. Wagner has been a useful tool for Moscow to exert unofficial military power with plausible deniability.
"The embassy deeply regrets this incident. It condemns its immediate instrumentalization on some malicious networks and the gross misinformation to which it gives rise," a French diplomatic representative wrote in regards to the incident.
