Prior to the crash of his plane, Prigozhin met with the president of the Central African Republic

The founder of PMC “Wagner” Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is on the list of passengers of the plane that crashed on August 23 in the Tver region, met with the President of the Central African Republic (CAR) Fosten-Arkanzh Touader a few days before the disaster. The Wall Street Journal writes about it with reference to sources.

According to the interlocutors of the publication, Prigozhin’s plane was seen in Bangi on August 18. At the meeting with Tuader, the PMC founder assured that the failed request for a mercenary rebellion in Russia at the end of June would not hinder the group’s activities in the Central African Republic.

At the meeting in the presidential palace, according to sources, the head of the CAR intelligence Vanset Lingissara was also present. But neither his representatives nor the representatives of the president of the republic responded to The Wall Street Journal’s request.

After the meeting with the leaders of the Central African Republic, Prigozhin allegedly met with representatives of the Rapid Reaction Forces of Sudan. In mid-April, a conflict began between them and the armed forces of Sudan, which continues to this day.

According to sources, the Sudanese delegation arrived in Bangui from Darfur and brought gold as a gift for Prigozhin. This was the response of the Sudanese side to the delivery of surface-to-air missiles by the head of PMC “Wagner”. Russian mercenaries helped the Rapid Reaction Forces win a series of victories over the Sudanese army. Including taking control of one of the enterprises in Khartoum.

The Sudanese authorities and Prigozhin himself rejected the presence of PMC “Wagner” in Sudan during the beginning of the conflict.

Before leaving for Moscow, Prigozhin also visited Mali, the newspaper writes. He spent some time in Bamako and from there went to Moscow.

• On August 21, a video message by Prigozhin appeared on channels close to PMC “Wagner”, in which he reported that the group was in Africa and engaged in the fight against radical Islamist groups. Prigozhin did not tell the name of the country and the date of the recording.
• A business jet belonging to Prigozhin was on its way from Moscow to St. Petersburg on August 23. On board, in addition to the founder of the PMC, was also the commander of the group Dmitry Utkin (call sign “Wagner”). The plane crashed in the Tver region. Rescuers found 10 phones at the crash site. Identification is underway. The deaths of Prigozhin and Utkin have not yet been officially confirmed.
• The investigation has not yet reported the main version of the plane crash. The press and users of social networks discuss several probable causes of the incident, including a missile hitting the plane and a terrorist attack. Sources in the British military department believe that the Federal Security Service of Russia is behind the plane crash.
• The representative of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, rejected all reports about the possible involvement of the Kremlin in the plane crash.