Russian official injured in ‘assassination attempt’ in Central African Republic
The head of a Russian cultural center in the Central African Republic (CAR) has been wounded in an assassination attempt in the capital Bangui, the Russian Embassy has said.
“This morning, an assassination attempt was made against the General Director of the Russian House Mr. Syty. He is in hospital,” Vladislav Ilin, the Press Attaché of the Russian Embassy, told Sputnik on Friday.
Dmitry Syty, Head of the “Russian House” Culture Center, had opened a parcel bomb addressed to him from an anonymous sender on Friday morning, the spokesperson for the Russian embassy said.
The bomb exploded, injuring him seriously. According to the Russian state media, he has since been taken to the hospital.
His conditions are described as non-life threatening. However, he allegedly suffered from a concussion.
According to the Russian Embassy, the incident occurred outside the Russian diplomatic compound, at the senior diplomat’s home.
The Embassy has said that it has tightened its security measures after the attack.
In a statement later in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on its senior official.
“We strongly condemn this criminal act, which is clearly aimed at hindering the activities of the Russia House in Bangui, and more broadly, harming the successful development of friendly relations between our two countries,” the Ministry said.
The Russian diplomatic body further added that Moscow hopes for the investigations launched by the CAR government to be able to identify and punish the perpetrators of “this atrocity.”
ME
