SA troops ‘ last barrier ’ to rebel push on capital
Central African Republic on alert as fighters advance
ASOUTH African helicopter crew reportedly opened fire on rebels advancing on the Central African Republic capital Bangui on Friday, days after a peace deal broke down in the mineral-rich nation.
The rebels yesterday claimed that they were at “the gates of Bangui”, adding that “the last barrier is the South Africans”, referring to South African troops that are on a stabilisation mission in the capital.
The rebels alleged that a South African helicopter had “overflown our position and fired on us below, but there were no victims”.
The claims could not be independently confirmed.
Troops of the Seleka rebel coalition shot their way through the key Damara checkpoint 75km north of the capital, said a source with the Multinational Force of Central Africa, a regional stabilisation mission that was manning the roadblock.
“The rebels stormed the checkpoint and passed through. There were shots but no wounded, ” said the source. “They are on the road to Bangui. We’re on the highest alert.”
A rebel chief, Colonel Djouma Narkoyo, said: “We are at the gates of Bangui. I cannot tell you where, it is a military secret, as well as our numbers, but Damara is behind us.”
A statement by the French Foreign Ministry confirmed that the rebels were “only a few kilometres” from Bangui. A spokesman, Philippe Lalliot, called on “all parties to show restraint and respect the civilian population ”.
According to Narkoyo, “the last barrier is the South Africans”.
A rebel spokesman, Eric Massi, appealed to the population to remain calm. “We call on everyone, both civilians and the TOP Zimbabwean lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa says in a new documentary: “People who do things under the cover of darkness are afraid of the light.”
The documentary is titled Fearless: Beatrice Mtetwa and the Rule of Law.
Anyone who knows her would testify the words are vintage Mtetwa, a lawyer who has defended human rights campaigners, pro-democracy activists and journalists.
Mtetwa was arrested on Sunday after a face-off with police raiding the offices of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in Avondale, Harare. military, to remain calm ahead of our troops’ arrival in Bangui to avoid unnecessary fighting,” he said from Paris.
The government denied that the rebels had passed Damara in a statement on national radio and urged residents of Bangui to not “give in to panic”.
Reports of a rebel advance spread quickly in the capital, whose streets emptied as people rushed home or tried to flee.
“Everyone is going home. Students have been released from classes. We’re waiting. We’re worried, ” said a shopkeeper.
In the city’s port, a boat operator said “hundreds of people” were trying to cross the Ubangi River to seek shelter in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
French Foreign Minister
We are at the gates of Bangui. I cannot tell you where, it is a military secret
Laurent Fabius said he was concerned about the situation in the former French colony.
“The indications that we have about Central Africa are worrying, ” he said, adding that France would do what was necessary to ensure that “French nationals are protected”.
The ministry said it had told about 1 000 French nationals who live in the country to be vigilant.
The rebel attacks came two days after Seleka announced that it would resume hostilities after the expiry of a deadline for the government to meet its demands under a January 11 peace deal.
Seleka, an alliance of three rebel movements, first launched an offensive on December 10 in the north of the country.
Facing little resistance from an ill-trained and ill-equipped army, the rebel forces — who accused President Francois Bozize of not abiding by earlier peace deals — seized a string of key towns, defying UN Security Council calls to stop, before halting within striking distance of Bangui.
Under the January peace deal, an opposition member, Nicolas Tiangaye, became the head of a national unity government that was to carry out reforms before national elections next year.
But the deal remained fragile and the rebels threatened to pull out if their demands were not met. They wanted the release of political prisoners and for foreign soldiers to leave the country.
Last weekend, the rebels detained five ministers of the new government, including members of the rebel coalition, to back their demands for concessions.
Bozize then offered to release political prisoners and end a nighttime curfew in a bid to head off a showdown with the rebels, but Seleka said that it was not enough.
Both the International Criminal Court and the UN Security Council have voiced fears over mounting new tension in the vast country.
The court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said she was “deeply concerned about reports of the worsening situation and allegations of the commission of serious crimes.
“My office will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute all those alleged to have committed these crimes,” said Bensouda.
The UN Security Council said the new troubles “jeopardise the precarious stability” of the Central African Republic, a landlocked nation of 4.4 million people that has been plagued by instability since its independence in 1960. Bozize seized power in a 2003 coup. — Sapa-AFP