Security Implications: Missions Scrutiny and Russian Journalists

security implications: The pace of Russia's renewed intervention has raised fears over the human rights and security implications of selling arms to regimes that are weak or in conflict, particularly as the US has signalled its own plans to withdraw troops and close missions, according to The Guardian. Scrutiny was heightened last month following the murder of three Russian journalists in Central African Republic while they were investigating the activities of the controversial Russian military services firm Wagner. The most recent an agreement for a planned Russian logistics base in Eritrea, which would give it access to the Red Sea was announced in early September after nine months that have seen Kremlin officials crisscross from the Horn to the Great Lakes and southern Africa. The moves, say observers, have accelerated markedly in 2018 as senior Russian officials have shuttled between capitals offering arms and military services deals often with few conditions attached in exchange for diplomatic support and potentially lucrative mineral extraction contracts. The official narrative is that the Russian government and CAR had a long standing cooperation, said one international official who has closely observed events in CAR since Russian advisers began arriving. But if CAR has been unusual, with the arrival of some 175 Russian private contractors and military personnel in addition to the supply of arms, it has also become emblematic of the wider Russian efforts in Africa, catching out even those working there. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.