FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Тouadera walk during their meeting on the sideline of the Russia Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, July 28, 2023. (Artyom Geodakyan/TASS Host Photo Agency Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Central African Army Forces (FACA) cadets display a fake rocket launcher on Jan. 26, 2014, in Jean Bedel Bocassa's Berengo palace near Pissa, some 80kms (45 miles) south west of Bangui, Central African Republic. Ten years on, Russia is said to be helping to refurbish the site as a military base. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)
FILE - Nigeriens, some holding Russian flags, participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, on July 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - This undated photograph handed out by French military shows Russian mercenaries boarding a helicopter in northern Mali. (French Army via AP, File)
FILE - Supporters of Niger's ruling junta hold a Russian flag at the start of a protest called to fight for the country's freedom and push back against foreign interference in Niamey, Niger, on Aug. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
An arial view of Bangui, Central African Republic, is seen on March. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
Jean Louis Yet sips from a cup at the market in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
Vegetables are displayed at a market in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
A woman gets her hair braided on the streets of Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
FILE - This undated photograph provided by the French military shows three Russian mercenaries in northern Mali. (French Army via AP, File)
A woman prepares plantains to sell in the market in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
People walk on the streets in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
Flowers are laid at the statue of Russian mercenaries as a tribute to the late Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
A satellite image taken on Sept. 25, 2022, shows what Central African Republic says will be a refurbished base for Russian soldiers. The area is approximately 50 miles (80 km) from the capital, and an adviser to President Faustin-Archange Touadera said it aims to have 10,000 Russian soldiers by 2030. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
A woman sells vegetables at a market in Bangui, Central African Republic, on March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)