Congo-Brazzaville has discreetly imported some 500 tons of arms from Azerbaijan, reveals a survey published before the March 21 election, and incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso, 77 years old with 36 in power, intends to seek a new mandate.
In total, Azerbaijan has delivered arms to Congo-Brazzaville at least 17 times since 2015, according to a study by the OCCRP (Organized crime and corruption project), which presents itself as “a group of investigative journalists founded in 2006”.
The last delivery was reportedly made in January 2020: “More than 100 tons of arms were sent from Azerbaijan to the Republican Guard of Congo-Brazzaville, including 775 mortar shells and 400 cases of rockets.
This latest transfer of arms “has aroused concern among opponents” who believe “that Sassou Nguesso is preparing to use force if necessary to maintain himself in power in the run-up to the March 21 elections.
“Saudi Arabia has been listed among the +sponsors+ (of these exports) at least twice in 2016 and 2017, around the same time that the admission of Congo-Brazzaville to OPEC was under negotiation.
An oil-producing Central African country of about five million inhabitants, Congo-Brazzaville has been ruled since 1979 by former officer Denis Sassou Nguesso, with the exception of a five-year parenthesis (1992-97).
During the last presidential election in 2016, the contested re-election of Mr. Sassou Nguesso provoked a rebellion in the Pool region south of Brazzaville, an opposition stronghold.
The regime’s military response and the pursuit of the rebels behind closed doors led to some 140,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) until a cease-fire announced by the authorities in December 2017 with Pastor Ntumi’s rebels.
“Opposition figures claim that arms supplies from Azerbaijan were used to fuel the brutal post-election offensive of 2016, which led to a humanitarian crisis,” according to a study by the consortium of investigative journalists OCCRP.
The cost of the last arms delivery in January 2020 was estimated at 10 million dollars by an expert.
The Brazzaville authorities did not answer the questions in the report, as did those in Baku, which were requested by AFP.
The Embassy of Congo in France was also not reachable Friday morning.
Hit by the fall in oil prices, Congo-Brazzaville heavily indebted reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July 2019.
A total of seven candidacies were validated for the April 21 elections, including that of President Sassou Nguesso and the opponent Guy-Brice Parfait Kolélas, who came second in the 2016 presidential election.
One month before the election, the atmosphere in Brazzaville is less tense than in 2016. Five years ago, the election was preceded by a highly contested reform of the constitution allowing President Sassou Nguesso to run again.
