In August 2018, Russia and the Central African Republic signed an intergovernmental agreement on military cooperation, following which a training center was established in Berengo where soldiers are trained by Russian instructors to handle weapons and master combat techniques .
Elite Russian soldiers
"We have not yet discussed the implementation of the base itself, but this possibility is not excluded in the framework agreement that has already been closed between our countries," said the minister, adding that if the presidents of both countries resolve to install the military base , the ministers will implement that decision.
Koyara noted that the education center in Berengo can not be considered a military base, though people have begun to see it that way.
The situation in the Central African Republic worsened in early December 2013, when clashes erupted in Bangui between militants from the Seleka Islamic group and Christian fighters. According to the UN, by the end of July 2018, up to one million people had been forced to leave their homes and about 6,000 were killed.
A meeting of the largest armed groups in the Central African Republic, the Anti-Balaka and Seleka, was held last August in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where the establishment of the Central African Union, a joint platform for consultations and actions to achieve peace in the country. The statement also calls on the country's authorities to begin work on reconciliation, with the assistance of Russia, the European Union, regional and international organizations.
Washington's preoccupation with Russia and China is causing the country to miss the opportunity to invest in a region where the middle class is growing rapidly.
US President John Bolton's National Security Adviser Donald Trump presented a new US strategy for Africa. Again, the strategy is focused on containing the political and financial influence of China and Russia.
Comment: The author no doubt means US President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton, even if John Bolton likes to act as if he is the president.
The US claims that both China and Russia are engaging in "predatory practices" aimed at impeding economic growth and interfering with US military and security interests on the continent.
AFRICOM
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM by the Council on Foreign Relations
In February 2007, President Bush announced the creation of a unified military command for Africa. This puts the continent on par, in the Pentagon’s eyes and command structure, with the Pacific Rim (Pacific Command), Europe (European Command), Latin America (Southern Command), the Middle East (Central Command), and North America (Northern Command). The Pentagon and many military analysts argue the continent’s growing strategic importance necessitates a dedicated regional command. But some experts suggest the command’s creation was motivated by more specific concerns: China and oil. With Soviet influence gone and France’s traditional presence much diminished, China has poured money into the continent in recent years as it jockeys for access to natural resources. And the United States is projected to import at least 25 percent of its oil from Africa by 2015, according to the National Intelligence Council
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Could be why there is so much political unrest in ...Nigeria for instance and other parts of Africa,.
The world has moved on since 2007, but the mentality has been left, in as far as the US, it's still living in the world of 19th century politics (the Monroe Doctrine) with the cold war mentality of the mid 20th century War Hawks of the cold war era, after WW2, and put them in the mix of Neo Conservatives, and what do you have.
Seems to me a recipe for disaster, and what do I know about such things, I am just a pleb. an interested observer, that watches and listens.
But the thing that interests me as a pleb, is because it affects my life, the money I have in my pocket, (disposable income), the food I eat, the way I bring up my children, do I have enough money left over to pay the rent or mortgage, in essence, can I and my family afford to live. without slowly being starved to death.
And that is the burning question with so many movements against the politial system of today, and a society that is crying out.