Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen in Bakhmut in May 2023 footage of Concord, a company linked to the Russian mercenary group (Handout).
The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions aimed at disrupting gold mining activities that fund the Wagner Group in Africa, vowing to hold the mercenaries accountable for abuses days after they staged a mutiny in Russia.
"The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali," Treasury sanctions official Brian Nelson said in a statement.
"The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group's revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine and anywhere else.".
The Wagner Group has been contracted by military regimes in Africa and played an increasingly violent role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Prigozhin urging Putin to use even greater force.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, previewing the sanctions earlier Tuesday, renewed his criticism of the Wagner mercenaries, who have been accused of wide abuses in Africa.
"And so we would continue to urge governments in Africa and elsewhere to cease any cooperation with Wagner," he said. »
