Russian journalists ambushed, killed in Central African Republic

Three Russian journalists were kidnapped and killed after an ambush 14 miles outside the town of Sibut in the Central African Republic, officials confirmed Tuesday. The journalists left Sibut at about 7 p.m. despite warnings from security officials. They were “kidnapped by about 10 men, all turbaned and speaking only Arabic,” said Marcelin Yoyo, a Sibut deputy official. The attackers killed the journalists and their driver ran away to inform authorities, he said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry identified the journalists as Kirill Radchencko, Alexander Rastorguyev, and Orkhan Dzhemal. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Russian businessman, confirmed in a Facebook post on Wednesday that the group was working with his investigative media outlet. Their project, titled “Russian mercenaries,” was about a security company in the Central African Republic with connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Central African Republic fell into unrest in 2013 after the country’s longtime Christian leader, Francois Bozize, was overthrown by a majority Muslim alliance. Several armed militias have sprung up since then and control different parts of the country.