The incident occurred when the reporter was interviewing civilians on the CAR border with Cameroon.
American journalist Philip Obagi Jr. in Africa was kidnapped and then tortured by mercenaries PMC “Wagner”. The correspondent was kidnapped while conducting an interview.
The Daily Beast, where the journalist works, writes about this.
Obaji was on a working visit to the Central African Republic on the border with Cameroon, in the city of Beloko.
In September 2023, three months before the journalist arrived in Beloko, FACA (Central African Armed Forces) soldiers and Russian paramilitary forces repelled an armed attack on the city by rebels. The houses of civilians were destroyed. There were allegations that Russian paramilitary forces, which continue to influence CAR's security services, tortured several local residents while searching for militants. They were also alleged to have collected bribes from drivers transporting goods from Cameroon.
Philip Obagi Jr. was investigating this incident when he was captured. He was in the middle of interviewing miners who had lost their homes after fighting between rebels and FACA-backed Russian paramilitaries.
“Suddenly four armed soldiers appeared, rushed at me and started pull me away. I started screaming, but the civilians around, including those I interviewed, were too scared to intervene. Two armed Russians incited the soldiers to attack me, ordering FACA officials to beat me until I confessed. that I was a criminal. When an elderly civilian asked the soldiers why they were dragging me along the rocky road, one of them replied: “He is a terrorist,” Philip said.
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