MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry has identified more than 30 new people involved in illegal military biological activities by the US in African countries, Deputy Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops Major General Alexey Rtishchev stated.

"The analysis of the received documents has revealed information on over 30 individuals involved, including government officials, employees of intermediary organizations, and private companies," the deputy chief said at a briefing on military biological activities by the US.

The Major General noted that among these individuals are: servicemen of the US Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, employees of regional branches of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), disease control and prevention centers in Africa, as well as members of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, DTRA Attache Alexis Robinson was involved in training African specialists in the agency’s methods in exchange for intelligence of interest to the Pentagon. Country directors of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Nigeria and Tanzania, Helina Meri and Mark Breda were organizing the sampling of the local population’s biological material in the interest of the US military, as well as testing unlicensed drugs.

Rtishchev also noted that the General Officer Commanding Special Operations Command (SOCOM), John Nkoimo, coordinated the DTRA program with the Kenya Defense Forces to expand its capabilities in handling chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear substances. He added that the CEO of the Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute facilitated granting unrestricted access to a collection of highly dangerous pathogens to US specialists.