Wagner force pulls off rebellion

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has led his mercenary fighters out of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, after reaching a deal to end Saturday’s short-lived armed rebellion.

Photos showed Prigozhin smiling and reaching out to grab supporters’ hands as he was driven out of the city, while his soldiers got into trucks to move back to their bases.

Under a deal brokered by Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin agreed to pull off the rebellion and go into exile. The Kremlin said that criminal charges against the Wagner chief would be dropped and his troops would not be prosecuted either.

Prigozhin said he made the decision when his troops were within 200km (124 miles) of Moscow to avoid bloodshed.

Earlier, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow to avoid “shedding Russian blood” and agreed to live in exile in Belarus – ending one of the biggest challenges to President Vladimir Putin’s decades-long rule.

Prigozhin said while his men were just 200km (120 miles) from the Russian capital, he decided on Saturday to turn them back to prevent killings.

“They wanted to disband the Wagner military company. We embarked on a march of justice on June 23. Now, the moment has come when blood could be spilled,” said Prigozhin in an audio message.

“Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned.”

Moscow braced for the arrival of the private army led by the rebellious mercenary commander by erecting checkpoints with armoured vehicles and troops on its southern edge. Red Square was shut down and the mayor urged motorists to stay off some roads.

Wagner’s lightning insurrection appeared to develop with little pushback from Russia’s regular armed forces, raising questions about Putin’s grip on power in the nuclear-armed nation even after the abrupt halt to Wagner’s advance.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko negotiated with the mercenary boss to stop Wagner’s troop movement after discussing the issue with Putin._Al Jazeera