US worries about exposure of unlawful bioarm projects in Africa

(MENAFN) The US is becoming increasingly apprehensive about joint efforts by Russia and China with African nations to expose Washington’s alleged covert military and biological activities on the continent, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. In a report presented on Tuesday by Major General Aleksey Rtishchev, Moscow accused the US of using its public health initiatives, aimed at monitoring infectious diseases in Africa, as a cover for expanding its military-biological capabilities, violating the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC).

Rtishchev expressed concern over the US's growing interest in Africa, warning that such cooperation with the US could lead to a loss of national sovereignty and worsen biosecurity issues. Moscow and Beijing have repeatedly called for greater transparency regarding the US's military biological operations, with both countries pushing for stronger enforcement of the 1972 BTWC.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously highlighted the relocation of US biological research from Ukraine to Africa under the guise of public health programs. Moscow claimed this move was a response to efforts to expose the Pentagon's illegal activities. The report also noted that the US, through the CDC, is funding research in 18 African countries on the resistance of pathogens to medical drugs, with countries like Djibouti, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria among those involved.

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