Central African Republic signs peace deal with rebels

[emptystep]

Central African Republic signs peace deal with rebels - Yahoo! News

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Central African Republic's government and rebels agreed on Friday to the formation of a national unity government under a ceasefire deal to end an insurgency that swept to within striking distance of the capital.

The agreement, signed in Gabon's coastal capital Libreville after three days of talks mediated by regional neighbors, averted the biggest threat to President Francois Bozize's decade in charge of the mineral-rich former French colony.

Aid groups had warned that a rebel attack on the capital Bangui could trigger a humanitarian crisis.

"God is great. He has spared us from the grave," Bozize told reporters after arriving at Bangui airport late on Friday. "I will finish my term, which ends in 2016."
...
Seleka, a coalition of five separate rebel groups, launched its insurgency in early December, accusing Bozize of reneging on a 2007 peace deal supposed to provide jobs and money to insurgents who laid down their weapons.

 

[LAfrique]

Central African Republic signs peace deal with rebels - Yahoo! News

LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Central African Republic's government and rebels agreed on Friday to the formation of a national unity government under a ceasefire deal to end an insurgency that swept to within striking distance of the capital.

The agreement, signed in Gabon's coastal capital Libreville after three days of talks mediated by regional neighbors, averted the biggest threat to President Francois Bozize's decade in charge of the mineral-rich former French colony.

Aid groups had warned that a rebel attack on the capital Bangui could trigger a humanitarian crisis.

"God is great. He has spared us from the grave," Bozize told reporters after arriving at Bangui airport late on Friday. "I will finish my term, which ends in 2016."
...
Seleka, a coalition of five separate rebel groups, launched its insurgency in early December, accusing Bozize of reneging on a 2007 peace deal supposed to provide jobs and money to insurgents who laid down their weapons.

Any move towards peace is a good thing! Wish them the very best! #Africa

 

[Saigon]

The problem in CAR is corruption, though. I've never gone there and don't intend to. They need a generation of good government now to stabilise the country and move towards genuine governanance.

For anyone interested, there is a wonderful Danish satirical documentary where he buys himself the position of the Liberian ambasador to CAR. It is funny - and disturbing.

 

[waltky]

Bozize ousted in coup...

C. African Republic president overthrown by rebels
24 Mar.`13 — Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said.

The rebels' invasion of the capital came just two months after they had signed a peace agreement that would have let President Francois Bozize serve until 2016. That deal unraveled in recent days, prompting the insurgents' advance into Bangui and Bozize's departure to a still unpublicized location. Witnesses and an adviser to Bozize said rebel trucks were traveling throughout the town on Sunday hours after the palace was seized. Former colonial power France confirmed the developments, issuing a statement that said French President Francois Hollande "has taken note of the departure of President Francois Bozize." "Central African Republic has just opened a new page in its history," said a communique signed by Justin Kombo Moustapha, secretary-general of the alliance of rebel groups known as Seleka. "The political committee of the Seleka coalition, made up of Central Africans of all kinds, calls on the population to remain calm and to prepare to welcome the revolutionary forces of Seleka," it said.

Government security forces in a pickup truck drive past a demonstration calling for peace as negotiators prepare for talks with rebels from the north, in downtown Bangui, Central African Republic Saturday. On Friday, March 22, rebels took the town of Damara, beginning a new march to take the capital, Bangui, said a rebel spokesman. Panic spread throughout the capital, with the neighborhoods closest to the northern gate of the city emptying out, as frightened residents locked up their shops, packed their bags and yanked their children out of school. Banks and government offices closed early

Central African Republic, a nation of 4.5 million, has long been wracked by rebellions and power grabs. Bozize himself took power in 2003 following a rebellion, and his tenure has been marked by conflict with myriad armed groups. The rebels reached the outskirts of Bangui late Saturday. Heavy gunfire echoed through the city Sunday as the fighters made their way to the presidential palace, though the president was not there at the time. "Bozize left the city this morning," said Maximin Olouamat, a Bozize adviser. He declined to say where the president had gone. The last public news of Bozize's whereabouts came Friday, when state radio announced he had returned from a visit to South Africa. Coverseas Worldwide Assistance, a Swiss-based crisis management firm that has contacts on the ground, said it believed Bozize was headed toward neighboring Congo. Bangui is located along the Oubangui River that separates the two countries. Congolese government spokesman Lambert Mende, however, said he had no knowledge of Bozize crossing into Congo.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement Sunday that the United States was "deeply concerned about a serious deterioration in the security situation" in Central African Republic. "We urgently call on the Seleka leadership which has taken control of Bangui to establish law and order in the city and to restore basic services of electricity and water," the statement said. Rebels from several armed groups that have long opposed Bozize joined forces in December and began seizing towns across the sparsely populated north. They threatened at the time to march on Bangui, but ultimately halted their advance and agreed to engage in peace talks in Libreville, the capital of Gabon.

A deal was signed Jan. 11 that allowed Bozize to finish his term, which expires in 2016, but the rebels soon began accusing the president of failing to fulfill promises made. They demanded Bozize send home South African forces who were helping bolster the country's military. They also sought to integrate some 2,000 rebel fighters into Central African Republic's armed forces. Earlier this month, the rebels again took control of two towns and threatening to advance on the capital. Late Saturday, Bangui was plunged into darkness after fighters cut power to much of the city. State radio went dead, and fearful residents cowered in their homes.

More C. African Republic president overthrown by rebels

 

[waltky]

Rebels can't agree who's gonna be top dog...

Split appears in C. African rebel coalition
25 Mar.`13 — A split in the leadership of the Central African Republic rebel coalition emerged Monday, only two days after the insurgents seized the capital of this impoverished nation and chased out the president.

One of the rebel leaders, Michel Djotodia, declared himself president Monday, saying he considers himself to be the new head of state. But another rebel leader told reporters his group does not recognize Michel Djotodia as president, and says they will challenge his attempt to install himself at the helm. Djotodia was asked by a French radio station if they should address him as Mr. President? He answered in an interview broadcast by RFI radio on Monday: "I can consider myself to be, at this moment, the head of state."

Asked how long he would stay in power, Djotodia suggested that he would stay as long as three years, the time remaining in the unfinished term of President Francois Bozize, who fled the capital over the weekend and whose whereabouts are now unknown. "We've just barely started, and you are asking me how long I plan to stay in power? (laughs) I can't say because you know full well that we need time to bring back peace. There is insecurity ... It was said in Libreville that we should respect the three year timeline for organizing free and transparent elections. We won't stay any longer," he told RFI.

In Paris, Nelson N'Jadder, the president of the Revolution for Democracy, one of the rebel groups belonging to the Seleka rebel coalition which invaded the capital, said that his fighters do not recognize Djotodia. He claimed the members of the rebel coalition had agreed that their aim was to push to the presidential palace and then announce an 18-month-long transition before new elections are held. There was never a consensus around appointing Djotodia as their overall leader, he said. "We do not recognize him as president," N'Jadder told The Associated Press by telephone from Paris. "We had agreed that we would push to Bangui in order to arrest Bozize and that we would then announce an 18-month transition, a transition that would be as fast as possible — and not one that would last three years," he said. "For your information, I have enough soldiers loyal to me to attack Djotodia. I am planning to take the Wednesday flight to Bangui."

N'Jadder said that rebels had been pillaging people's homes in Bangui, including the homes of French expatriates. He said that on Monday, he had received a phone call from France's ambassador to Bangui and had presented his apology, explaining that those doing the pillaging were mostly Djotodia's men. "We came to liberate the people, not to steal from them. This is shameful. Unacceptable," he said.

More Split appears in C. African rebel coalition

See also:

CAR Leader Flees; Rebel Chief Declares Self President
March 25, 2013 - The ousted president of the Central African Republic has fled to Cameroon, as rebels who overthrew him named a new head of state and pledged to hold elections within three years.

Officials in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, confirmed that CAR President Francois Bozize arrived there after fleeing the fighting that left 13 South African soldiers dead. Michel Djotodia, the head of the Seleka rebel coalition, named himself the new CAR leader and says elections will take place within three years. Civilian opposition leader Nicolas Tiangaye will retain the prime minister's post he was given in a January power sharing deal. Residents in the capital, Bangui, say there is widespread looting in the city by both rebels and civilians. Residents have also been without power or running water for several days. The United Nations says it is evacuating all its non-essential workers from the city.

Central African Republic rebel leader Michel Djotodia is met by journalists as he arrives ahead of planned peace talks with the Central African Republic's government, at the airport in Libreville, Gabon, January 7, 2013.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma says at least 27 soldiers were wounded in the fighting and one soldier is missing. "Just over 200 of them fought bandits numbering more than 1,000 people," said Zuma. "They fought a high tempo battle for nine hours defending the South African military base." A U.N. official in Bangui, Amy Martin, tells VOA that basic services such as security and water are needed for the United Nations to be able to resume its work. "All of the U.N. offices, all our stores, warehousing, whatever, have been looted," said Martin. "There is very little left. When people loot ... it has been looted not once but by several different groups that have come through."

The medical aid group, Doctors Without Borders, says its facilities in Bangui have also been looted. It called on all parties in the conflict to respect health facilities and medical workers. In another development Monday, French troops patrolling the international airport in Bangui killed two Indian citizens when several vehicles tried to enter the facility. Further details about the shooting were not immediately available. Following the rebel takeover of Bangui, the African Union suspended CAR's membership and ordered sanctions against the rebel leaders. The United States on Monday condemned the ousting of President Bozize, but stopped short of calling for him to be reinstated.

MORE

 

[waltky]

New boss worse than the old boss...

Strongman will rule by decree
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 - MEAN STREETS: Rebels in the Central African Republic were initially welcomed with palm leaves, but the mood darkened in the capital, Bangui, after an outbreak of looting

Central African Republic strongman Michel Djotodia was facing international isolation yesterday after dissolving the country’s institutions and announcing he would rule by decree after the weekend coup. The former diplomat turned rebel leader, whose Seleka coalition took over the capital, Bangui, in a rapid-fire weekend assault, announced late on Monday that he would rule by decree until elections are organized in three years. Earlier on Monday, the African Union suspended the coup-prone landlocked nation from its membership and the EU condemned the coup as “unacceptable.” The 15-member UN Security Council emerged from an emergency meeting on the crisis called by former colonial power France to condemn the coup.

However, while it threatened “further measures,” it made no explicit threat of sanctions. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had already condemned Seleka’s power grab and called for “the swift restoration of constitutional order.” Djotodia announced the suspension of the constitution, as well as the dissolution of parliament and the government late on Monday in Bangui. “During that transition period which will lead us to free, credible and transparent elections, I will legislate by decree,” he told reporters. Earlier on Monday, in an interview with Radio France Internationale, Djotodia made it clear he would not rule out running in polls he promised for 2016.

The power change in Bangui came after a lightning offensive that shattered a Jan. 11 power-sharing deal between the old regime and Seleka. Ousted Central African Republic president Francois Bozize, who himself seized power in a 2003 coup, fled the country over the weekend and on Monday he was in Cameroon. However, the authorities there said he would moving on “to another host country.” Djotodia, who is about 60, is a former civil servant and diplomat, but since 2005 he has been one of the leading figures among the rebels. In his address on Monday night, he promised to restore order, announcing a night-time curfew between 7pm and 6am. The Seleka rebels were initially welcomed by residents waving palm leaves in celebration, but the mood quickly darkened as looters took to the streets.

During the day, shops were closed on Monday while rebel fighters fired their Kalashnikovs in the air as they patrolled the streets. Djotodia vowed to press on with the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former rebels that has been the core grievance of his Seleka movement. With Bangui still without electricity or radio on Monday, it was difficult to assess casualties from the weekend’s fighting. However, 13 South African soldiers were killed in the fighting, the nation’s heaviest post-apartheid military loss. South African President Jacob Zuma said they had died in a nine-hour “high-tempo battle” against “bandits,” but said there were no immediate plans to withdraw troops who were deployed alongside the weak national army.

MORE

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Bozize Falls and Zuma Fails in the CAR
26 March 2013 - Analysis

One of the tangential aspects of the deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic is the controversial role of South African Defence Forces (SADF). Sent in via a 2007 bilateral agreement between Presidents Bozize and Zuma, the SADF forces (originally called trainers in some reports and peacekeepers in others) suffered up to a dozen casualties over the weekend, making it the greatest loss of South African soldiery since the end of apartheid. "This is tremendously damaging for South Africa and the reputation of what was perceived as one of the major military powers in Africa," said Alex Vines, an analyst at the Chatham House think-tank in London, speaking to Reuters.

Reports out of South Africa, however, describe the 200 SADF soldiers as paratroopers and Special Forces, not trainers. Their engagement over the weekend with over 1000 rebel troops advancing on the city apparently proved too much for them; it is now unclear what will happen. According to an unconfirmed UN source in Bangui (as reported by Reuters) SADF had asked the French for assistance in leaving the country. Additionally, the rumour mill in South Africa has it that the soldiers were never really there to protect Bozize as their primary mission, but rather to safeguard South African mining interests and to counter French influence in the region. If that is the case then the irony of asking the French for help to depart will certainly not be lost on the critics.

This is hardly a robust start to Zuma's ambition to be a power broker throughout the continent, nor a good start to the conference of BRICS nations, now taking place in Durban. It is also likely to fuel the debate within South Africa about what kind of military is appropriate for the country, which has armed itself as if it was going to be fighting a defensive war against foreign invaders, but whose real future will lie in peacekeeping operations throughout the continent. Another option is that Zuma will attempt to revive South Africa's apartheid era role as a regional 'enforcer', if that is the case then the country's force readiness is surely in question.

Meanwhile, back at home South Africa, social media is laying bare the country's own tensions and contradictions with some critics calling the SADF a disgraceful band of "road-blockers". Others are calling on Zuma to send in reinforcements, even though it appears that the battle for Bangui is over. Most South Africans seem more sceptical than angry about what its soldiers are doing in the CAR, many commentators simply asked that prayers be made for the lost young men.

More http://allafrica.com/stories/201303271115.html

 

[Saigon]

Yes, the new boss will no doubt be dreadful. The CAR has never had good government, and isn't about to now. It really has failed state written all over it.

 

[waltky]

Djotodia solidifying his position...

CAR Army Chiefs Pledge Allegiance to Coup Leader
March 28, 2013 — Central African Republic's army chiefs pledged allegiance to the country's self-proclaimed president Michel Djotodia on Thursday as the ex-rebel leader consolidated control four days after his fighters seized the capital.

Djotodia seized control of the resource-rich nation after thousands of his rebel fighters swept into the riverside capital Bangui on Sunday, ousting President Francois Bozize and triggering days of looting. Seleka rebel leader Michel Djotodia.Seleka rebel leader Michel Djotodia. ​​"The former FACA [national army] officers wanted to meet with President Djotodia to tell him they recognize him as the new president,'' said Maurice Ntossui, a commander of the African peacekeeping force in the country who attended the meeting. "All the former chiefs of police, gendarmes, the head of the armed forces and other senior officers came to the meeting. This was a form of surrender,'' he said. At least 13 South African soldiers, among hundreds deployed to reinforce Bozize's army, were killed in the rebel onslaught in the worst military setback for Pretoria since the end of apartheid in 1994 and one which put a dent in any ambitions it has of becoming a continental superpower.

Armed fighters from the Seleka rebel alliance patrol the streets in pickup trucks to stop looting in Bangui, March 26, 2013.

South African media and a senior Ugandan officer said South African soldiers gathered in Uganda on Thursday for a "new mission'' to Central African Republic. "They were humiliated and they want to avenge,'' said the Uganda officer, who asked not to be named. South Africa's armed forces and defense ministry declined to comment. A U.N. official in Democratic Republic of Congo said about 70 South African troops had been dispatched to the Congolese town of Gemena, 180 km from Bangui, but it was not clear what they were there to do. A spokesman for the Seleka rebels said their leaders were struggling to restore calm in Bangui, a city of 600,000, where armed civilians were pillaging shops and homes. Seleka had asked police and other civil servants to return to work, he said.

Gunshot wounds

Seleka are fighters and they can't do police work,'' spokesman Colonel Youssouf Ben Moussa said. "We are trying to get our forces into their barracks ... It is true that there is still some looting but it is not our men.'' Medical charity Doctors Without Borders said 173 people had been taken to the town's one functioning hospital, most with gunshot wounds. Dozens were waiting to be operated on but the lack of running water and erratic power was impeding treatment. There was sporadic shooting in parts of the city, but many shops and markets were reopening and traffic was returning as security slowly improved. "Hunger can kill as well as bullets,'' said Marie Flore Boka, a 43-year-old civil servant on the streets buying food.

The overthrow of Bozize, who seized power in a coup in 2003, was the latest of many rebellions since the poor, landlocked country won independence from France in 1960. It was condemned by the United Nations and the African Union, which imposed sanctions and a travel ban on several Seleka leaders. Seleka said they launched their offensive - in which they fought their way from the far north of the country to the presidential palace in four days - after the collapse of a power-sharing deal signed in January. Witnesses, including among the scores of French expatriates being evacuated from Bangui airport on Thursday, said Seleka fighters went on a looting spree after taking the capital. "They came into my hotel room and drew their weapons on me, demanding my money,'' said Yves De Moor, a French business owner. "One of them put a bullet into the chamber, which was a terrifying moment, and I gave them everything.''

CAR Army Chiefs Pledge Allegiance to Coup Leader

See also:

Central African Integration Better on Paper Than Practice
March 28, 2013 — It has been more than 20 years since heads of state created the six-nation Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, CEMAC, to foster regional integration among members with a common currency. Legally, tariffs have been eliminated, but in practice there has been no progress on realizing a free trade bloc. The movement of goods and people on the border where Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon all converge is as controlled as ever.

The town of Kiossi in Cameroon is on the main access road to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Residents along the border say they are frustrated by not being able to travel and trade freely - despite a two-decades-old political agreement to implement a Central African free trade zone. "The so-called regional integration in Central Africa to me is just existing on paper because I can't drive freely to Gabon, Central Africa or Equatorial Guinea," complains business man Ngah Christian, 33. "We can not be talking about regional integration when we have Cameroonians who are being expelled from Equatorial Guinea or are attacked."

Kiossi journalist Freedy Becke, 29, agrees the region has been let down. "It is actually a failure .... there are frequent police harassment for example of Cameroonians who live in Equatorial Guinea, in Gabon, frequent expulsions, expatriation. And then the passport, we think we should have a unique passport for the whole of the region. I do not think that exists though I have been hearing that it exists, " Becke says.

Lack of enforcement

Heads of state from CEMAC did in fact approve a common passport to facilitate easier travel and trade. But It has not been uniformly enforced at the local level and many immigration officials still demand visas before allowing cross-border access. Close to 50 million people live in six countries that make up CEMAC: Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea.

A history of conflict and a lack of development are major reasons why there has been little to no progress in implementing a free trade area. Carlos Bongfirm, the director of macro-economic policies and trade at CEMAC, says there is an absence of roads linking the states which reduces exchanges between people. Further, he notes, politcal nationalism, a history of coups and multple conflicts since the 1990s have preoccupied politicians more than economic integration.

Bureaucracy

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - All former bribery deals off, gonna have to bribe the new guy now...

CAR's Djotodia to Review Minerals Deals
March 29, 2013 — Central African Republic's new President Michel Djotodia, who seized power last week, said on Friday he would review resource deals signed by the previous government and promised to step down at elections in 2016.

Djotodia, a former civil servant turned rebel leader, said he would seek aid from former colonial power France and the United States to retrain the ill-disciplined army, which was easily overrun by fighters from his Seleka rebel coalition. Paris and Washington have called for the rebels to respect a power-sharing deal signed in the Gabonese capital Libreville in January which mapped out a transition to elections in 2016 at which then-President Francois Bozize was forbidden from running. "We are going to act according to the spirit of the Libreville agreements," Djotodia told his first news conference since seizing power. "Anyone currently in power supporting our takeover will not contest the next presidential elections, myself included."

The rebel takeover has been strongly condemned internationally. The African Union suspended Central African Republic's membership and imposed sanctions on Seleka leaders, including Djotodia. In a bid to tap the country's under-exploited mineral wealthy, Bozize had awarded China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) rights to explore for oil at Boromata, in the country's northeast near the border with Chad.

Michel Djotodia, center, rebel leader who declared himself president, arrives for meetings with government armed forces, Bangui, Central African Republic

South Africa's DIG oil is also prospecting in the southeast of the country, near the town of Carnot. "I will ask the relevant ministers to see whether things were done badly, to try to sort them out," Djotodia said, when asked about resource licenses awarded to Chinese and South African firms by Bozize. Bozize, who fled to Cameroon immediately after the coup, has requested asylum in the West African nation of Benin, Foreign Minister Nassirou Bako said. "He has not yet arrived in Cotonou and everything indicates he is still in Cameroon," Nako said late on Thursday.

Change of direction

Although Central African Republic has deposits of gold, diamonds, oil and uranium, these remain largely untapped, and the coup-prone nation is one of the poorest on earth. "We will rely on the European Union to help us develop this country," Djotodia said, adding that about 80 percent of the country's foreign aid has come from the bloc. "When we have been sick, the European Union was at our bedside. It will not abandon us now." Bozize, who fled to Cameroon, has requested asylum in the West African nation of Benin, a senior official with Benin's foreign ministry official said this week.

Source

 

[waltky]

Central African Republic Continues to Deteriorate...

UN: Conditions in Central African Republic Continue to Deteriorate
October 17, 2017 — The United Nations reports conditions in Central African Republic have continued to deteriorate since a serious outbreak of inter-communal violence in mid-May between the Muslim Seleka and largely Christian anti-Balaka armed groups.

Fighting in some parts of Central African Republic has become so intense that United Nations and private aid agencies have had to suspend their activities. The U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the C.A.R., Najat Rochdi, says security has become so bad in the East, agencies have had to change their mode of operations. "We cannot do it anymore business as usual having bases, you know, here and there, but rather strengthening some hubs actually, around a number of cities where the security is much more important and from there fly in special emergency teams, a kind of surge teams," she said.

Since January, the United Nations reports a 50 percent increase in the number of internally displaced people to 600,000. Refugee numbers also have increased to nearly one-half million. Rochdi says humanitarian operations in the country are suffering from severe under-funding. She says only 39 percent of the nearly $500 million appeal for this year has been received. Because of the lack of funding, she says food rations have been cut in half. "And that there are places where actually we have stopped the food distribution. We already had very serious worsening of the malnutrition situation. For example, unfortunately, in the southeast, we started already seeing children dying from severe malnutrition," said Rochdi.

Humanitarian coordinator Rochdi says there are unconfirmed reports that 10 children have died from malnutrition-related causes in the town of Zemio in southeastern C.A.R. She says shelter and protection concerns also are growing. Another cause for alarm is education. She says 400,000 children are not going to school. She warns nearly a whole generation of children who have lost out on education may not have a viable future. And this, she says, will spell disaster for the whole country.

UN: Conditions in Central African Republic Continue to Deteriorate

See also:

Many More Refugees Flee CAR Violence to Cameroon
October 07, 2017 — U.N. aid agencies are struggling to meet the needs of refugees in eastern Cameroon as multitudes flee the renewed violence in neighboring Central African Republic. The population of the Gado refugee camp has exploded from just 1,000 refugees in January to 25,000 today.

Scores of children are being attended to by medical staff at the Gado refugee camp on Cameroon's eastern border with the C.A.R. At least a hundred children fleeing with their parents have been received by humanitarian workers this week. 22-year-old Magloire Zema, who arrived at Gado last week, says she is happy her 6-month-old son has recovered his health. She says he was neither eating nor had access to clean drinkable water, but today the situation is better because he can drink milk and eat a bit of their traditional meals.

Refugees from Central Africa sit in the eastern Cameroonian village of Gado Badzere, near the city of Garoua-Boulai, not far from the border with Central Africa.​

Health worker Gerimie Dicia says Magloire is lucky her son has recovered. He says many children who arrive at Gado die from hunger, malnutrition, or wounds inflicted on them by fighters while they are escaping from C.A.R. He says malnutrition and hunger are becoming public health problems for children from Central African Republic arriving in the camp. He says many of them under the age of 5 end up dying. He says when the children are brought to them at the early stages of malnourishment, they are treated for three or four days, and then are referred to their community workers for psychological and health follow up care. Religious and ethnic unrest erupted in C.A.R. after Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the majority Christian country in 2013 and left the nation divided.

Three years of violence has killed thousands and led more than 300 000 to run for safety in neighboring Cameroon. Allegra Baiocchi, resident coordinator of the U.N. system in Cameroon, says despite the increasing number of refugees and shortage of humanitarian assistance, many refugees have continued to flee to Cameroon as the crisis escalates. "We have heard stories of unstoppable violence. People who have lost their husbands, their children, their parents on their way here," said Baiocchi. "Their first message was, 'please give us something to do, please allow us to become more self-reliant and independent,' but unfortunately there was just not enough funding. Our response is underfunded. Overall, the humanitarian response in Cameroon is 40 percent funded. When it comes to refugees, that figure goes down to 20 percent. There is not much we can do with 20 percent of the funding."

Children escaped from the Central African Republic civil war study at Gado Badzere refugee camp in Cameroon.​

Najat Rochdi, the humanitarian coordinator of the United Nations office for humanitarian affairs in C.A.R. says she is launching an appeal to humanitarian agencies, the international community and persons of goodwill to help the suffering multitudes in C.A.R. and neighboring countries. She says this year the needs of the refugees have increased to $498 million. She says the refugees have come to Cameroon to meet donor agencies who relocated because of the carnage. The United Nations raised less than half of the money it asked for in its last appeal, yet the number of C.A.R. refugees and internally displaced persons has increased from 2.2 million at the beginning of this year to 2.4 million currently. Last week, Cameroon reported it had sealed its border with C.A.R. after violence had escalated.

Many More Refugees Flee CAR Violence to Cameroon

 

[Vastator]

New boss worse than the old boss...

Strongman will rule by decree
Wed, Mar 27, 2013 - MEAN STREETS: Rebels in the Central African Republic were initially welcomed with palm leaves, but the mood darkened in the capital, Bangui, after an outbreak of looting

Central African Republic strongman Michel Djotodia was facing international isolation yesterday after dissolving the country’s institutions and announcing he would rule by decree after the weekend coup. The former diplomat turned rebel leader, whose Seleka coalition took over the capital, Bangui, in a rapid-fire weekend assault, announced late on Monday that he would rule by decree until elections are organized in three years. Earlier on Monday, the African Union suspended the coup-prone landlocked nation from its membership and the EU condemned the coup as “unacceptable.” The 15-member UN Security Council emerged from an emergency meeting on the crisis called by former colonial power France to condemn the coup.

However, while it threatened “further measures,” it made no explicit threat of sanctions. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had already condemned Seleka’s power grab and called for “the swift restoration of constitutional order.” Djotodia announced the suspension of the constitution, as well as the dissolution of parliament and the government late on Monday in Bangui. “During that transition period which will lead us to free, credible and transparent elections, I will legislate by decree,” he told reporters. Earlier on Monday, in an interview with Radio France Internationale, Djotodia made it clear he would not rule out running in polls he promised for 2016.

The power change in Bangui came after a lightning offensive that shattered a Jan. 11 power-sharing deal between the old regime and Seleka. Ousted Central African Republic president Francois Bozize, who himself seized power in a 2003 coup, fled the country over the weekend and on Monday he was in Cameroon. However, the authorities there said he would moving on “to another host country.” Djotodia, who is about 60, is a former civil servant and diplomat, but since 2005 he has been one of the leading figures among the rebels. In his address on Monday night, he promised to restore order, announcing a night-time curfew between 7pm and 6am. The Seleka rebels were initially welcomed by residents waving palm leaves in celebration, but the mood quickly darkened as looters took to the streets.

During the day, shops were closed on Monday while rebel fighters fired their Kalashnikovs in the air as they patrolled the streets. Djotodia vowed to press on with the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former rebels that has been the core grievance of his Seleka movement. With Bangui still without electricity or radio on Monday, it was difficult to assess casualties from the weekend’s fighting. However, 13 South African soldiers were killed in the fighting, the nation’s heaviest post-apartheid military loss. South African President Jacob Zuma said they had died in a nine-hour “high-tempo battle” against “bandits,” but said there were no immediate plans to withdraw troops who were deployed alongside the weak national army.

MORE

See also:

Bozize Falls and Zuma Fails in the CAR
26 March 2013 - Analysis

One of the tangential aspects of the deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic is the controversial role of South African Defence Forces (SADF). Sent in via a 2007 bilateral agreement between Presidents Bozize and Zuma, the SADF forces (originally called trainers in some reports and peacekeepers in others) suffered up to a dozen casualties over the weekend, making it the greatest loss of South African soldiery since the end of apartheid. "This is tremendously damaging for South Africa and the reputation of what was perceived as one of the major military powers in Africa," said Alex Vines, an analyst at the Chatham House think-tank in London, speaking to Reuters.

Reports out of South Africa, however, describe the 200 SADF soldiers as paratroopers and Special Forces, not trainers. Their engagement over the weekend with over 1000 rebel troops advancing on the city apparently proved too much for them; it is now unclear what will happen. According to an unconfirmed UN source in Bangui (as reported by Reuters) SADF had asked the French for assistance in leaving the country. Additionally, the rumour mill in South Africa has it that the soldiers were never really there to protect Bozize as their primary mission, but rather to safeguard South African mining interests and to counter French influence in the region. If that is the case then the irony of asking the French for help to depart will certainly not be lost on the critics.

This is hardly a robust start to Zuma's ambition to be a power broker throughout the continent, nor a good start to the conference of BRICS nations, now taking place in Durban. It is also likely to fuel the debate within South Africa about what kind of military is appropriate for the country, which has armed itself as if it was going to be fighting a defensive war against foreign invaders, but whose real future will lie in peacekeeping operations throughout the continent. Another option is that Zuma will attempt to revive South Africa's apartheid era role as a regional 'enforcer', if that is the case then the country's force readiness is surely in question.

Meanwhile, back at home South Africa, social media is laying bare the country's own tensions and contradictions with some critics calling the SADF a disgraceful band of "road-blockers". Others are calling on Zuma to send in reinforcements, even though it appears that the battle for Bangui is over. Most South Africans seem more sceptical than angry about what its soldiers are doing in the CAR, many commentators simply asked that prayers be made for the lost young men.

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