The American private military company Bancroft Global Development is reportedly in discussions with the Central African Republic (CAR). While Bancroft denied deploying to Bangui, the group admitted to having contacts with the regime of President Faustin Archange Touadéra. Bancroft’s communications service clarified that they agreed to a framework to discuss possible future activities with the CAR government starting in July.
On December 23, the presidential spokesperson of CAR, Albert Yaloké Mokpème, stated that the country was working to diversify its security relations. As part of the effort to reconstruct the national army, CAR sought assistance from various partners, including the United States, Russia, Angola, Morocco, and Guinea, for training its soldiers. Bancroft confirmed discussions about possible future activities but emphasised that the training of the CAR army remained the group’s priority.
In recent years, hundreds of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner arrived in the the Central African Republic, officially to train the army. Wagner’s presence intensified at the end of 2020 to counter a rebel offensive on Bangui. Wagner established itself as a key security partner for the CAR government, leading to the withdrawal of the last French soldiers in December 2022. However, Wagner has faced challenges, including internal issues following a mutiny in Russia and the death of its founder, Evgeni Prigogine.
There are reports that Washington offered the CAR a security agreement in late 2022, potentially in exchange for distancing itself from Wagner. The details of such an agreement have not been confirmed by either Washington or Bangui. Bancroft emphasised its separation from US government policies in CAR, stating that articles confusing Bancroft with US government policies in CAR are erroneous.