Police in South Africa arrested nine foreigners suspected of planning to leave the country to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war, authorities said. The group, aged between 20 and 26, was arrested around Johannesburg on Sunday evening by a multidisciplinary team that included Interpol. The men were detained at OR Tambo airport and at a hotel in Bruma, east of Johannesburg, as they were reportedly preparing to board flights out of the country. Police said the group are accused of breaking South Africa’s laws that ban mercenary activity without government permission. Authorities declined to disclose the suspects’ nationalities, but said none of them lived in South Africa. Police also did not confirm whether the group planned to fight for Russia or Ukraine, and no organisations facilitating the travel were named. The case comes amid wider concerns about Africans recruited or lured to fight in the conflict. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment estimated that more than 1,700 people from 36 countries in Africa have been recruited to fight for Russia, and other reporting has described Kenyan and Ghanaian recruitment and fatalities linked to the war. The nine arrested are expected to appear in court later on Monday or Tuesday. Their case is being handled as an alleged contravention of South Africa’s mercenary laws.