MINSK: Strongman Alexander Lukashenko demanded an explanation from Moscow on Wednesday after Belarus arrested Russian mercenaries allegedly plotting to destabilize the country ahead of next month’s presidential election.
The surprise announcement is just the latest twist in an extraordinary election campaign that has seen the 65-year-old leader, who has dominated Belarus for nearly three decades, jail his key would-be rivals ahead of the vote.
“It is necessary to immediately turn to appropriate Russian structures so that they explain what is going on,” Lukashenko told the head of the KGB security service at an emergency meeting.
Earlier in the day the Belarus security service arrested a group of 32 Russian fighters allegedly plotting to destabilize the country.
KGB chief Valery Vakulchik told Lukashenko that the detained men were members of the Wagner group, a shadowy private military firm that is reportedly controlled by an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and promotes Moscow’s interests in Ukraine, Syria, and Libya.
The arrests came less than two weeks before Belarus holds a tense presidential election on August 9, in which Lukashenko is seeking a sixth term, as public discontent builds over his policies.
Ahead of the polls, opposition protests have erupted across the ex-Soviet country of 9.5 million people, with a 37-year-old woman political novice, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, quickly emerging as Lukashenko’s main rival.
Lukashenko has accused some of his critics of being controlled by “puppeteers” in Moscow.
State news agency Belta said the authorities had received information about the arrival of 200 fighters in Belarus “to destabilize the situation during the election campaign.”
Belta said the detained men sported “military-style clothing” and carried heavy cases.
The state news agency also said the alleged militants gave themselves away because unlike ordinary Russian tourists, they did not drink.
“They did not consume alcohol or visit entertainment venues, they kept to themselves in order not to attract attention,” Belta said, adding that the men stayed at one of the country’s sanatoriums.
National television showed several Russian passports that allegedly belong to the detained men, as well as stacks of dollar bills, packets of condoms and pieces of paper with Arabic script.
The men appeared to also have Sudanese pounds on them.
Some commentators suggested that the detained Russian fighters might have used Belarus as a transit point and were en route to Africa.
Unlike Russia, Belarus has kept its borders open during the coronavirus pandemic and operates flights as usual.
Russian author Zakhar Prilepin, who fought alongside Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, said he knew some of the detained men.
“There are several fighters from our battalion,” said Prilepin.
Prilepin said on Facebook that the fighters were probably en route to “some other destination,” which Belarus “surely knows very well,” suggesting that the detentions were a carefully-scripted affair.
The ex-Soviet country’s security service has a history of exposing alleged foreign plots to destabilize the country before major elections.
The Russian embassy in Minsk said it had been notified of the detention of 32 Russian nationals.
Russia is Minsk’s closest political and economic ally but relations have been strained.
In recent years, Lukashenko has been under increasing pressure to inch closer to Russia but the Belarus leader has rejected the idea of outright unification with Moscow.
In a separate development, Belarus also arrested Vitali Shkliarov, a high-profile Washington-based strategist who has advised presidential candidates in US, Russia and Ukraine.
Citing the security service, Belarusian television said Shkliarov had advised Tikhanovskaya’s husband Sergei Tikhanovsky, one of Lukashenko’s would-be rivals, who is now in jail.
“It seems that Belarus is heading into a period of extreme political flux,” said Timothy Ash, a strategist at BlueBay Asset Management.
“Lukashenko has the fight of his life on in these elections,” he said, adding that the detention of Russians might give the leader the excuse to either further clamp down on the opposition or cancel the election altogether.
Belarus officials said they were convening an emergency meeting of all election candidates on Thursday morning.
Belarus demands Russian explanation over ‘Wagner mercenaries’
https://arab.news/y57pf
Belarus demands Russian explanation over ‘Wagner mercenaries’
- Some commentators have suggested that the detained Russian fighters might have been using Belarus as a transit point and were en route to Africa
- The ex-Soviet country’s security service has a history of exposing alleged foreign plots to destabilize the country before major elections
Two high-speed trains derail in Spain, police sources say 21 people killed
- The accident happened near Adamuz, in Cordoba province. So far, 21 people have been confirmed dead by police
MADRID: A high-speed train derailed and smashed into another oncoming train in southern Spain on Sunday, pushing the second train off the tracks in a collision that police sources confirmed to Reuters had killed at least 21 people.
The accident happened near Adamuz, in Cordoba province. So far, 21 people have been confirmed dead by police, with state broadcaster Television Espanola adding that 100 people had been injured, 25 seriously. The driver of one of the trains, which was traveling from Madrid to Huelva, was among those who died, the TV station added.
“The Iryo 6189 Malaga — (to Madrid) train has derailed from the track at Adamuz, crashing onto the adjacent track. The (Madrid) to Huelva train which was traveling on the adjacent track has also derailed,” said Adif, which runs the rail network, in a social media post.
Adif said the accident happened at 6:40 p.m. (1740 GMT), about 10 minutes after the Iryo train left Cordoba heading toward Madrid.
Iryo is a private rail operator, majority-owned by Italian state-controlled railway group Ferrovie dello Stato. The train involved was a Freccia 1000 train which was traveling between Malaga and Madrid, a spokesperson for Ferrovie dello Stato said.
The company said in a statement that it deeply regretted what had happened and had activated all emergency protocols to work closely with the relevant authorities to manage the situation.
The second train was operated by Renfe, which also did not respond to a request for comment.
Adif has suspended all rail services between Madrid and Andalusia.
HORRIFIC SCENE
The Iryo train had more than 300 passengers on board, while the Renfe train had around 100.
Paco Carmona, Cordoba fire chief, told TVE the first train heading to Madrid from Malaga had been evacuated.
The other train’s carriages were badly damaged, he said, with twisted metal and seats. “There are still people trapped. We don’t know how many people have died and the operation is concentrating on getting people out of areas which are very narrow,” he said. “We have to remove the bodies to reach anyone who is still alive. It is proving to be a complicated task.”
Transport Minister Oscar Puente said he was following events from rail operator Adif’s headquarters in Madrid.
“The latest information is very serious,” he posted on X. “The impact was terrible, causing the first two carriages of the Renfe train to be thrown off the track. The number of victims cannot be confirmed at this time. The most important thing now is to help the victims.”
The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, told El Pais newspaper that he had been among the first to arrive at the scene of the accident alongside the local police and saw what he believed to be a badly lacerated body several meters from the accident site.
“The scene is horrific,” he said. “I don’t think they were on the same track, but it’s not clear. Now the mayors and residents of the area are focused on helping the passengers.”
CALLS FOR MEDICS
Images on local television showed a reception center set up for passengers in the town of Adamuz, population 5,000, with locals coming and going with food and blankets amid nighttime temperatures of around 42 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius).
A woman named Carmen posted on X that she had been on board the Iryo train to Madrid. “Ten minutes after departing (from Cordoba) the train started to shake a lot, and it derailed from coach 6 behind us. The lights went out.”
Footage posted by another Iryo train passenger, also on X, showed an Iryo staffer in a fluorescent jacket instructing passengers to remain in their seats in the darkened carriages, and those with first aid training to keep watch over fellow passengers. He also urged people to maintain mobile phone batteries to be able to use their torches when they disembarked.
Salvador Jimenez, a journalist for RTVE who was on board the Iryo train, shared images showing the nose of the rear carriage of the train lying on its side, with evacuated passengers sitting on the side of the carriage facing upwards.
Jimenez told TVE by phone from beside the stricken trains that passengers had used emergency hammers to smash the windows and climb out, and they had seen two people taken out of the overturned carriages on stretchers.
“There’s a certain uncertainty about when we’ll get to Madrid, where we’ll spend the night, we’ve had no message from the train company yet,” he said. “It’s very cold but here we are.”
