Three Sudanese men were killed on Saturday in the Central African Republic (CAR) after leaving the Andha gold fields, witnesses told Darfur24. The victims, travelling by motorcycle between the Andha mine and the town of Mamoun, were stopped by Russian forces linked to a local base and ordered to hand over cash and the bike, the witnesses said. When they refused, the forces opened fire, killing two on the spot; a third man, found wounded, said the attackers were Russian personnel who looted their belongings before he died of his injuries.
The latest incident follows a string of reported abuses. Last week, a family in the Sudanese border town of Um Dafuq said “Russian forces” in CAR killed their relative, Tijani Osman, after torturing him in the town of al-Dahl in Birao province. On Aug. 5, Sudanese herders in Um Qatuya told Darfur24 that Russian forces killed a Sudanese man during sweep operations that also targeted Sudanese homes and shops in Dengori, Belbeli and Um Qatuya inside CAR.
For months, Russian units operating from a CAR base have stepped up patrols along the Sudan–CAR frontier, conducting arrests and beatings of herders and being accused of cross-border looting, according to testimonies from herders who reached Um Dafuq. Tensions along the border have escalated since June amid violence between the Kara and Ta’isha tribes, compounded by rising banditry and the reported targeting of Sudanese nationals.
More than 38,000 Sudanese have fled into CAR—out of some 4.1 million who have escaped to neighboring countries since the war began—according to the U.N. refugee agency. The reports could not be independently verified.
