The Russian Foreign Ministry said it made no secret of military presence in the CAR.Meanwhile, Tsur, that sent three Russian journalists on a doomed mission to the war-torn Central African Republic, announced Wednesday it was shutting down.
"There is no more Tsur," the outlet’s editor-in-chief announced on Wednesday on the Telegram messaging app. "I cannot write a word that is unrelated to the murder of our friends in Africa."
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said the three slain journalists had not sought accreditation with local authorities. The ministry shared a warning before the tragedy that travelers should not rely on Central African police, which it described as "basically defunct."
Russia has opened a criminal probe into a suspected murder.
READ MORE: HRW Urges Immediate Probe Into 'Strange' Death of Russian Journalists in CAR