A mural of Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group who reportedly died earlier this week in a plane crash, has been painted in Syria’s rebel-held city of Binnish in the northwestern province of Idlib.
Created by graffiti artists Aziz Asmar and Anis Hamdoun it depicts Prigozhin as a war criminal.
The Wagner boss, whose brutal fighters were feared in Syria as well as Ukraine and several African countries, conducted a brief mutiny in Russia in June.
Wagner mercenaries were key elements of Russia’s forces in Ukraine but Wagner fighters have also played a central role in projecting Russian influence in global trouble spots, first in Africa and then in Syria.
A jet, thought to be carrying Prigozhin, crashed on Wednesday soon after taking off from Moscow. Six other Wagner members and a crew of three were also on board.
Rescuers found ten bodies and Russian media cited anonymous sources in Wagner who said Prigozhin was dead. But there has been no official confirmation.
