Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top
Chadian soldiers, part of the multinational African force FOMAC, man a position near Damara on January 2/AFP

Africa

Central Africa rebels agree to peace talks

“I honestly don’t think they will go that far.”

Akaga said Bangui was well secured by FOMAC troops and called Damara a “red line” that FOMAC would not allow either side to cross.

He also said the rebels appeared to be a motley crew.

“We do not have direct contact with the rebels, and no one can know their exact number. It would surprise me if the rebels themselves know how many they are. It’s a mixture of multiple movements,” he said.

In the centre of the country, residents of the village of Ngakobo said four people had died in clashes between villagers and rebels that broke out when a group of rebels tried to loot a local sugar refinery.

Residents saw the rebels raiding the refinery Tuesday and attacked the ambulance they were trying to use to cart off their loot, slashing its tyres, a resident told AFP by phone on condition of anonymity.

“The rebels were furious and opened fire on the residents. They killed two of them. After that, clashes broke out and two rebels were stabbed to death,” he said.

Sudan’s military meanwhile said Wednesday that it had evacuated more than 40 Sudanese nationals, as well as some Yemeni, Egyptian and Chadian citizens.

In Bangui, civilian supporters of Bozize have taken to erecting roadblocks to prevent any rebel incursion, stopping vehicles to check whether the occupants speak Sango or French.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

A national language, Sango is not spoken by the people of the north, a mainly Muslim region where the majority of the rebels come from.

“In our neighbourhood, we were told that a man belonged to a rebel group in the bush. We burned down his house four days ago,” a man at a checkpoint said.

Overnight Monday, a young Muslim questioned by these militias tried to escape and was shot dead by soldiers, setting off clashes in which a police officer was killed.

About The Author

Pages: 1 2

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News