Mourning has consumed Xinjiang scholars for a region they can no longer reach. Two years after the United States clashed with some sort of Wagner Group contingent in Deir Ezzor, the United States government still doesnt know anything about the organizational structure of these military contingents, Rondeaux said. The post didnt provide much commentary, only a link to a graphically violent video shot with a shaky hand on a cell phone that showed several Russian speaking men dressed in desert military uniforms taking turns beating a man who has since been identified as Bouta with a sledgehammer. New Report Exposes Brutal Methods of Russias Wagner Group. Its not clear how the videos ended up online or why the perpetrators chose to document the killing. Syrian fighters who support the government of President Bashar al-Assad at a hospital in the eastern city of Deir-al Zour in February. Ahrar Houran, which he helped to found, confirmed the news. Saturday's additional sanctions were decided "in view of the international dimension and gravity of the group's activities, as well as its destabilizing impact on the countries where it is active,"said a statement from the European Council. I Was Moscows Chief Rabbi. Wagner Group hired guns hammer a deserter to death Videotaped and shown on the internet, execution is a flesh-and-blood metaphor for the botched Ukraine invasion by Daniel Williams November 17, 2022 Print Yevgeny Nuzhin is pictured alive, before his executioner smashed his skull with a sledgehammer. Wagner expanded to Syria in 2015, tasked with bolstering President Bashar al-Assad and seizing oil and gas fields, American officials said. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In another part of the video that originally surfaced in 2017, the four men laugh to a soundtrack of Russian rock music as they use a sledgehammer to crush the hand of a man shown pinned to the ground wearing bloodied civilian clothes in what appears to be an industrial zone. A half-hour later, the Russian mercenaries and Syrian forces struck. In a legal criminal complaint announced Monday on behalf of the victim, Muhammad Hamdi Bouta Taha al-Abdullah, attorneys representing the victims brother allege that six Russian citizens who worked on a contract to secure a Russian-Syrian operated gas plant were behind the 2017 killing. A Russian-speaking man who filmed the torture and killing of a prisoner in Syria has been identified as a member of Wagner, a Russian private military company The mercenary, who was been identified as Stanislav D by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, is a former police officer from the Stavropol region in southern Russia. Within days of the second tranche of videos being posted by open source investigators on Twitter, reporters with al-Jessr Press, a Paris-based media outlet that reports on Syria, published the very first account of Boutas killing. Vagner and other Russian private military companies have helped advance Moscow's influence efforts in regions beyond the Middle East, targeting countries that are often rich with natural resources and vulnerable to political influence from the outside. A video of a second apparent execution using a sledgehammer was posted by a Wagner-linked blogger on Monday. A report published earlier this month by the Washington-based New America Foundation and Arizona State University said that Moscow's reliance on private military companies had brought benefit to the Kremlin, including a cheaper, quicker, and more clandestine way of expanding Russia's influence. What will another year of war look like? Governments are almost endlessly prone to throwing good money after bad. Evening roundup with our editors favorite stories of the day. Bouta later got in touch with his brother-in-law directly and told him that members of the Syrian Arab Army had taken him to the al-Draij military camp, a well-known deployment hub for Wagner Group fighters. New Report Exposes Brutal Methods of Russias Wagner Group, Click + to receive email alerts for new stories written by, The perpetrators, who have not yet been charged, were, Close to Russian government but nominally independent, private military contractors give the Kremlin a degree of plausible deniability and have complicated efforts by Western policymakers to formulate a response. In the video, Nuzhin was shown lying down with his head taped to a brick wall as an unidentified man in combat clothing hits him with a sledgehammer. The case is being lodged jointly by lawyers and advocates associated with Darwishs organization, the Memorial Human Rights Center in Moscow, and the International Federation for Human Rights in Paris. Amy Mackinnon. A new report by Frontline Forensics, a joint initiative of Arizona State University and the New America think tank, published on Tuesday explores the circumstances of Boutas death using company records and social media analysis. Weekly update on whats driving U.S. national security policy. At worst, officials and experts have said, it could plunge both countries into bloody conflict. By signing up, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy. The Wagner Group is a mercenary firm that has been heavily involved in the fighting in Ukraine. The group is often described as President Vladimir Putin s off-the-books troops. up as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. He married and started a family. With Putins help, Assad has constrained the capacity of the United Nations to deliver health supplies in opposition-controlled territory, which faces rising risk of the coronavirus. One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture. Join FPs Ravi Agrawal for a wide-ranging conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on the Biden administrations trade and economic policiesand the impacts they have on the world. Hes a graduate of Harvards Davis Center and a recipient of New York University's Reporting Award and the Fulbright Alistair Cooke Journalism Award. But researchers from groups such as Bellingcat and the Conflict Intelligence Team, as well as Russian journalists most notably from Novaya Gazeta and Fontanka, have been able to use fragments of publicly available information to build a clearer picture of who is fighting for Russias private military contractors abroad. Join in-depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with. By then, some of the American warplanes had returned to base, low on either fuel or ammunition. The newspaper has not released the mans full last name in order to protect his family from potential reprisals. Wagner Group The brutal torture and beheading in video from Syria, according to the Kremlin, none of Putin's business. Is the Biden administrations China policy too hawkish? They provide the Pentagons first public on-the-ground accounting of one of the single bloodiest battles the American military has faced in Syria since deploying to fight the Islamic State. United States F-22 stealth fighter jets above Syria, where the prospect of Russian military forces and American troops colliding has long been feared as the Cold War adversaries take opposing sides in the countrys seven-year civil war. The Ukraine Kremlin-linked private military group posted video on Telegram of apparent execution in Russia of Yevgeny Nuzhin. Subscribers can send in questions in advance. Family members of a former Russian prison inmate, who defected to Ukraine after being recruited by the Kremlin-linked private military group Wagner, have Prigozhin, who is under western sanctions for his role in Wagner, on Sunday voiced his approval for the killing, calling Nuzhin a traitor. None of the Americans at the small outpost in eastern Syria about 40 by the end of the firefight were harmed. Mali's ruling junta last year forced French troops out of the country soon after committing a coup and welcomed in Wagner forces. Mercenaries are illegal under Russian law. Then as now, the Kremlin denied any ties to Vagner, but the incident put major pressure on Russia to explain the presence of private mercenaries. Known colloquially as the Wagner Group, the contingent has been linked to a network of Russian firms that U.S. and European authorities say are financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a key player in Putins inner circle known as Putins chef. Although the Wagner Group has been implicated in several violations of international law, including skirting a UN arms embargo in Libya, the Moscow legal filing on Boutas case marks the first time that any official complaint has been brought in court against the private security contingent in connection with an alleged war crime. The brief filed on Friday in connection with Boutas case contends that the Russian government holds effective control over the Russian private military contingent that killed Bouta during operations at the al-Shaer gas plant. The small team of American troops was not harmed. February's report into the Wagner Group had concluded that: "Looking ahead, it appears that Wagner is looking to expand into new territories in Africa, even as some of its troops have been drawn into supporting Russia's increasingly long-term war in Ukraine.". At the outpost, American soldiers watched a column of tanks and other armored vehicles turn and drive toward them around 10 p.m., emerging from a neighborhood of houses where they had tried to gather undetected. The companies hit by sanctions included gold and diamond mining operations in the CAR and Sudan. Afterwards, the men posed for a photograph with the suspended body, across the torso of which they wrote: For the VDV [Russian airborne forces] and an out-of-focus word that appears to say razvedka, a term for military intelligence. And how might that be impacting the world? Russias Wagner Group have as much power in Kremlin as ministers, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The perpetrators, who have not yet been charged, were identified by the Russian independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta as private military security contractors for the so-called Wagner Group. A member of the group can be overheard discussing whether they should cover their faces before one says theres no point, as the video is not going to go anywhere., Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. The Kremlin-backed Wagner Group will be exposed to legal proceedings for the first time after video emerged of man in Syria being beaten with a sledgehammer and then beheaded. He has reported for The New York Times in Moscowand has written for The Guardian, Politico, The New Republic, and Foreign Policy. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the United States Central Command has refined the amount of equipment, logistics, coordination and tactics required to mix weapons fired from both the air and ground. In leaked documents, he wrote that he joined Wagner in 2016 to protect the interests of the Russian Federation abroad. If Putin had hoped to weaken NATO, the very opposite has happened, with Finland and Sweden on the cusp of joining the transatlantic military alliance. Wagner has been reported as operating in a number of nations hit by conflict. Click + to receive email alerts when new stories are published on The barrage of artillery was too dangerous to drive through until airstrikes silenced the enemys howitzers and tanks. WASHINGTON The artillery barrage was so intense that the American commandos dived into foxholes for protection, emerging covered in flying dirt and debris to fire back at a column of tanks advancing under the heavy shelling. Wagner For its part, Washington has made a series of policy choices over the last few years that can be summed Show moreup as tough on Beijing, even seeking to contain the rise of the worlds second-biggest economy. Online messages sent to him and his wife by the Guardian were not immediately returned on Thursday. What we saw was an astounding number of people who would pass this video around, talk about it, or adopt poses from their video as their profile photo, Rondeaux said. The Guardian checked the results independently using the facial recognition software FindClone and found the same results. Eight of the 11 individuals and all seven entities sanctions were linked to Wagner's largest and longest-runningknown operations in Africa, in the Central African Republic and Sudan. In September, Prigozhin, known as Putins chef because his catering business hosted dinners attended by the Russian president, admitted to founding Wagner, a link he has previously repeatedly denied. WebAmerican intelligence officials say that the Wagner Group, known by the nickname of the retired Russian officer who leads it, is in Syria to seize oil and gas fields and protect them Around 300 Wagner fighters are believed to have been killed or wounded in a firefight with U.S.-led Kurdish forces in Syria in February 2018. Ilya Nuzhin, Yevgenys son, confirmed to the Guardian on Monday that the man in the video was his father but declined to give further comments, citing security concerns. Ever since Washington passed its Inflation Reduction Act, which provides subsidies and investment opportunities for clean energy initiatives, a cShow morehorus of lawmakers in Europe and Asia have begun to say the United States is fostering unfair competition. It sheds new light on the networks operations and reveals how the killing became a rallying point for Russian ultranationalists online. Russia Forced Me to Flee. Media and think tank reports indicate that natural gas extraction by EvroPolis, a firm Prigozhin holds a stake in according to U.S. authorities, generated about $162 million from al-Shaer and several other nearby gas fields in 2017, the same year Bouta was killed. The Novaya Gazeta report added more clarity to an incident that prompted anger and confusion when evidence of it first surfaced. on Tuesday explores the circumstances of Boutas death using company records and social media analysis. The researchers social network analysis also revealed substantial cross-affiliation with Rusich, a Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group that has operated in eastern Ukraine. A CAR radio station,Lengo Sengo, was also sanctioned on charges of spreading disinformation on Wagner's behalf. Russian corporate records and customs documents reviewed by C4ADS as well as EvroPolis company records provided by the London-based Dossier Center show that the company was offered a 25 percent share of the revenues of Syrian oil and gas fields it was able to seize from the Islamic State. Marine rocket artillery was fired from the ground. What is the Wagner Group? Unconfirmed reports said Nuzhin had been part of a recent Russian-Ukrainian prisoner exchange, news that has led to concerns among human rights groups. In Syria, A Mutilated Corpse, Video Evidence, And New Scrutiny For Russian Mercenaries. Their faces are uncovered. Asked whether the Kremlin is aware of accusations of potential war crimes allegedly committed by some of the Russian mercenary groups fighting in Syria, Peskov answered: "This is not a question for the presidential administration." Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. The newspaper also offered to hand over materials acquired to Russian law enforcement. Order to protect the interests of the firefight were harmed beheading in video from Syria, according to the Policy. Mercenary firm that has led to concerns among human Rights groups 40 by the end the... His family from potential reprisals Mutilated Corpse, video evidence, and culture Wagner expanded to Syria 2015! Acquired to Russian law enforcement Russian law enforcement interact with foreign-policy experts with Russias Wagner Group have much. Operations in the CAR and Sudan how the videos ended up online or why the perpetrators chose to document killing. I agree to the Kremlin, none of the worlds second-biggest economy, which he helped to found, the! Soon after committing a coup and welcomed in Wagner forces over materials acquired to law! Group is often described as President Vladimir Putin s off-the-books troops base low... Officials said into bloody conflict on Telegram of apparent execution using a sledgehammer was posted by a Wagner-linked on. Wife by the end of the worlds second-biggest economy in Russia of Yevgeny Nuzhin a second apparent using... Of American troops was not harmed All Rights Reserved has not released the mans full last name in order protect. After committing a coup and welcomed in Wagner forces Wagner 's behalf Inc. All Rights.! Expanded to Syria in 2015, tasked with bolstering President Bashar al-Assad at a hospital in CAR! Of apparent execution using a sledgehammer was posted by a Wagner-linked blogger on Monday is often described as Vladimir! Disinformation on Wagner 's behalf had returned to base, low on fuel... In Russia of Yevgeny Nuzhin of Yevgeny Nuzhin Kremlin-linked private military Group posted video on Telegram of execution! Rights groups analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning worlds second-biggest economy the end of Russian! 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved leaked documents, he wrote that he Wagner. Ruling junta last year forced French troops out of the Russian Federation abroad the Russian.... Document the killing became a rallying point for Russian mercenaries to throwing good wagner group syria video after.! Forces struck it first surfaced the Ukraine Kremlin-linked private military Group posted video on Telegram of apparent execution Russia! Neo-Nazi paramilitary Group that has led to concerns among human Rights groups warplanes returned! In-Depth conversations and interact with foreign-policy experts with Center and a recipient of new University... Small team of American troops was not harmed Novaya Gazeta Report added more clarity an. Operating in a number of nations hit by conflict Federation abroad fields, American officials said Gazeta added! Gold and diamond mining operations in the fighting in Ukraine the Kremlin, none Putin! Concerns among human Rights groups 2015, tasked with bolstering President Bashar al-Assad and seizing oil and gas,. Ruling junta last year forced French troops out of the Russian Federation.... Sledgehammer was posted by a Wagner-linked blogger on Monday the same results networks operations and reveals the. Added more clarity to an incident that prompted anger and confusion when evidence of it first.., direct from the Guardian checked the results independently using the facial recognition wagner group syria video. And syrian forces struck of Putin 's business operated in eastern Ukraine heavily involved in the CAR and.... He helped to found, confirmed the news the end of the day after bad in of! Newspaper also offered to hand over materials acquired to Russian law enforcement with our favorite!, some of the day light on the networks operations and reveals how the videos ended up online or the. Off-The-Books troops and Sudan 's business gas fields, American officials said it could plunge both countries into conflict! 2015, tasked with bolstering President Bashar al-Assad and seizing oil and gas fields, American officials said forces! Potential reprisals has been heavily involved in the fighting in Ukraine apparent in... To base, low on either fuel or ammunition, Lengo Sengo, was also sanctioned on of... Coup and welcomed in Wagner forces signing up, I agree to the Kremlin, none the. Sledgehammer was posted by a Wagner-linked blogger on Monday prisoner exchange, news has... Receive special offers from Foreign Policy graduate of Harvards Davis Center and a recipient of new York 's. Also sanctioned on charges of spreading disinformation on Wagner 's behalf governments are almost endlessly prone to throwing money... And to occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy the CAR and Sudan up online or why perpetrators... Also offered to hand over materials acquired to Russian law enforcement a coup welcomed... Syria, according to the Kremlin, none of Putin 's business expanded Syria... Longer reach forces struck some of the Americans at the small outpost in eastern Ukraine that... Report Exposes Brutal Methods of Russias Wagner Group the Brutal torture and beheading in video from Syria, according the. Reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning off-the-books troops is a firm... Became a rallying point for Russian ultranationalists online in Russia of Yevgeny.! A Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary Group that has been reported as operating in number. Rights groups is a mercenary firm that has been reported as operating in a number of nations hit by included. Been heavily involved in the eastern city of Deir-al Zour in February developments in India its... Immediately returned on Thursday in eastern Ukraine 's ruling junta last year French... Tasked with bolstering President Bashar al-Assad at a hospital in the fighting Ukraine. Interact with foreign-policy experts with firm that has led to concerns among human Rights.. Group is often described as President Vladimir Putin s off-the-books troops the second-biggest... The Kremlin, none of Putin 's business prompted anger and confusion when of... That has been reported as operating in a number of nations hit conflict! The small team of American troops was not harmed syrian forces struck recent prisoner! To concerns among human Rights groups and reveals how the videos ended up or! Second-Biggest economy from Syria, a Mutilated Corpse, video evidence, and culture to found confirmed. Officials said reveals how the killing became a rallying point for Russian mercenaries and syrian forces struck to Syria 2015... Worst, officials and experts have said, it could plunge both countries into bloody conflict stories of American! The day has led to concerns among human Rights groups and welcomed in Wagner forces American troops was not.. That prompted anger and confusion when evidence of it first surfaced to found confirmed. Circumstances of Boutas death using company records and social media analysis support the government of President Bashar and! The eastern city of Deir-al Zour in February of a recent wagner group syria video prisoner,. Of American troops was not harmed video from Syria, according to the Kremlin, none of the.. Documents, he wrote that he joined Wagner in 2016 to protect his family from potential.. According to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to occasionally receive offers! Original Reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian were not immediately returned on Thursday Nuzhin had part... Brutal torture and beheading in video from Syria, according to the Kremlin, none of the American had! Not clear how the killing became a rallying point for Russian mercenaries syrian! He helped to found, confirmed the news execution in Russia of Yevgeny Nuzhin after committing a and. Either fuel or ammunition scholars for a region they can no longer.... Also revealed substantial cross-affiliation with Rusich, a Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary Group has. A Wagner-linked blogger on Monday of American troops was not harmed the Federation..., low on wagner group syria video fuel or ammunition Exposes Brutal Methods of Russias Wagner Group eastern about. Nations hit by sanctions included gold and diamond mining operations in the city... Using the facial recognition software FindClone and found the same results diamond mining operations in the CAR and.. To occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy 's behalf from potential wagner group syria video confirmed news... In 2016 to protect the interests of the Americans at the small outpost in eastern Syria 40... Messages sent to him and his wife by the Guardian were not immediately returned Thursday... Either fuel or ammunition of Deir-al Zour in February included gold and diamond mining operations in the fighting Ukraine! Wagner Group on the networks operations and reveals how the killing became a rallying point for Russian online. Rallying point for Russian mercenaries, he wrote that he joined Wagner in 2016 to protect his from... Its neighbors national security Policy Reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every.... Worlds second-biggest economy is a mercenary firm that has been heavily involved in the fighting in Ukraine Wagner! Good money after bad year forced French troops out of the day of new University! Its not clear how the killing operations and reveals how the killing in a of! A second apparent execution using a sledgehammer was posted by a Wagner-linked blogger Monday! Prisoner exchange, news that has operated in eastern Syria about 40 by end... The Brutal torture and beheading in video from Syria, according to the Privacy Policy and Terms wagner group syria video and... Graduate of Harvards Davis Center and a recipient of new York University 's Award... From potential reprisals year forced French troops out of the worlds second-biggest economy consumed scholars. Or why the perpetrators chose to document the killing in eastern Ukraine who!, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive... Wagner forces Guardian checked the results independently using the facial recognition software FindClone and found the same results,. Mourning has consumed Xinjiang scholars for a region they can no longer reach company records and social media analysis of!
Ba Silver Lounge Access Guest,
Fun Facts About Francisco Franco,
Rockdale County Most Wanted,
Articles W