The Central African Republic is in the middle of a tug of war between two Russian mercenary groups.

The Wagner Group has operated in the CAR since 2018 and remained active in the country after the 2023 death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. However, Russia’s defense ministry has pressured the country to replace Wagner with the Kremlin’s Africa Corps, which operates under the Russian defense ministry. A CAR military official said that Russia demanded that the country cover Africa Corps personnel costs and also pay millions of dollars to Moscow.

“But authorities in Bangui said they are unable to pay the amount,” said the official, who spoke anonymously to The Associated Press. “Instead, they hope to compensate Russia with strategic and mineral resources, notably gold, uranium, and iron,”

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