U.S. calls on Russia to stop Central Africa violence

FILE PHOTO: New U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield holds a news conference to mark the start of the U.S. presidency of the U.N. Security Council for March, at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations called on Russia on Wednesday to stop violence by "mercenaries working as an arm of Russia's Ministry of Defense" in the Central African Republic (CAR) and hold accountable those responsible.

U.N. sanctions monitors reported to the Security Council that Russian military instructors and CAR troops targeted civilians with excessive force, indiscriminate killings, occupation of schools and large-scale looting.