Western media outlets say Russia has been deploying troops to Central African Republic to support Russian state-sponsored private military contractors, or PMCs, operating there.
A number of Ilyushin -76 cargo planes from Russia, an ally of President Faustin-Archange, landed in Central African Republic this weekend, the security source and a source at the airport said.
Observers identified over a dozen Russian military trucks with soldiers and two armoured personnel carriers at Bangui airport.
Central African Republic officials conformed that Russia sent hundreds of troops into the country after an alleged coup bid that took place ahead of the presidential and parliamentary polls scheduled for next week.
“Russia has sent several hundred soldiers and heavy weapons” in the framework of a bilateral cooperation agreement, government spokesman Ange Maxime Kazagui said on Monday.
Russia uses state-sponsored Wagner and regular troops in the Central African Republic to support the official government.
On Saturday, the authorities accused former president Francois Bozize of plotting a coup after his candidacy was rejected. United Nations peacekeepers also dispersed armed rebel groups occupying roads and towns near Bangui.
Fighting was going on in several towns, including Mbaiki, about 100 km (62 miles) from Bangui on Sunday, according to one security source and two humanitarian sources.