Government forces and Russian allies in the Central African Republic have abused civilians, and Russian operatives have hampered peacekeeping operations there, a UN rights expert said on February 20. "Government forces were responsible for arbitrary arrests and detentions, violations of the right to life, physical and mental integrity, " UN expert Yao Agbetse said after a 10-day visit. He said Russian forces -- which have been in the impoverished country since 2018 -- "continue to inflict cruel, inhuman, humiliating, and degrading treatment on the civilian population." The former French colony spiraled into civil war following a 2013 coup.
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