Russia Sends 5 Thousand Assault Rifles To The Newest Free Sniper Rifle To Central Africa

Russian assault rifle illustration. (Wikimedia Commons / GYSGT ERIK S. HANSEN)

JAKARTA - Russia announced the shipment of thousands of its newest weapons to the Central African Republic (CAR), a mineral-rich country that has been hit by violent domestic conflicts.

There are a total of 5,000 submachine guns in this third shipment, having previously provided 10 BRDM-2 armored personnel vehicles last year and hundreds of weapons in 2019. All for free, as gifts.

"Russia has supplied CAR with the third batch of free weapons," said Russian Ambassador to CAR Vladimir Titorenko, as reported by The Moscow Times of the RIA Novosti News Agency.

"This shipment consists of assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols, RPGs, hand grenades and ammunition," continued Titorenko.

RIA partner news agency Novosti Sputnik reported that the handover ceremony took place at Bangui Airport and was attended by CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera and CAR's Minister of Defense.

Russia since 2018 has publicly supported President Faustin's government. Although the UN Security Council allowed Russia to deliver weapons to CAR in 2017, Titorenko said small arms shipments did not require a permit but prior notification.

In addition, Russian paramilitaries of the private military contractor, the Wagner Group, operate in CAR under a bilateral defense agreement with the official status of training the country's soldiers.

One of the contributions of this military contractor is stopping the rebellion in Bangui, the capital of CAR ahead of the Presidential Election in December last year.

To note, Russia is increasing military support, nuclear energy and other services to countries in Africa, in exchange for mining rights, in line with President Vladimir Putin's campaign to revive the influence of the Soviet Union on the continent.