DHL Employees Arrested in Connection With Assassination Attempt on Russian House Head in CAR

Dmitry Syty, the general director of the Russian House in the Central African Republic (CAR), was hospitalized in Bangui last week following an assassination attempt. His condition was later assessed as difficult and was airlifted to Moscow.

A number of DHL employees have been arrested and interrogated in the Central African Republic during an investigation into the explosion of a parcel in the Russian House, a police source told Sputnik.

According to the source, the CAR police intend to appeal to Interpol to identify the person who sent the explosive to the head of the Russian House.

On December 16, an assassination attempt was made against general director of the Russian House in CAR, Dmitry Syty, the press attache of the Russian Embassy, Vladislav Ilin, told Sputnik. The head of the Russian House was said to have received a package bomb that exploded in his hands.

CAR police told Sputnik that they consider the attack a terrorist act, as Syty had received threats before.

The Commonwealth of Officers for International Security (COIS), an organization that provides training services to the armed forces, police, and gendarmerie of the CAR, made the assumption that "a French military contingent could be behind this terrorist attack."

On Monday, Syty was evacuated to Russia, while a rally in his support was held in the CAR's capital.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the attack was "obviously intended at obstructing the activities of the Russia House in Bangui, and, more broadly, obstructing the successful development of friendly relations between our two nations."

The Russian House in Bangui is a cultural and educational facility that conducts various humanitarian activities for the people of the CAR and serves as a platform for Central Africans to become acquainted with Russian culture.