# French troops battle Muslim rebels in Central African Republic town



## Bleipriester (Jun 1, 2014)

Almost lost in the mass of information. French troops fighting Islamist  fighters in a 65.000 citizen town in Central Africa, probably being ambushed with help of civilians or wannabe civilians. Hollande once threatened to support the "rebels" in Syria even single-handed, but it looks like his forces are bound by Islamist fighters.



> French  peacekeeping troops in Central African Republic used helicopter gunships  and mortars on Saturday to fight Muslim rebels at a bridge in the town  of Bambari, northeast of the capital Bangui, a Reuters witness said.
> The clash is the latest between  fighters from the mostly Muslim rebel Seleka coalition and  peacekeepers, and could deepen antagonism in the north of the country  towards French forces.
> At least  five people were injured, four of them Seleka fighters who have been  resisting attempts to disarm them by French forces deployed in their  former colony as part of the Sangaris peacekeeping operation.
> The  soldiers used stun grenades to try to disperse civilians wielding  machetes who blocked the bridge, but then came under fire from automatic  weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. They brought in at least two  helicopter gunships and fired mortars.
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## Sunni Man (Jun 1, 2014)

If the French troops weren't in the country.

They wouldn't be attacked.  ..


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## Bleipriester (Jun 1, 2014)

Sunni Man said:


> If the French troops weren't in the country.
> 
> They wouldn't be attacked.  ..


Not really. As a Frenchman it is more likely to be killed by a Muslim extremist in France than in Africa.


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## waltky (Oct 7, 2014)

Militias want C.A.R. prsident, PM to step down...

*Central African Republic militias call for president, PM to step down*
_Tue Oct 7, 2014 - Christian militias in Central African Republic have called for the president and prime minister to resign and have ordered their ministers to pull out of the government, striking a blow to efforts aimed at quelling violence in the country._


> The former French colony has been engulfed in turmoil since the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition seized power in the majority Christian country in March 2013. The rebels later withdrew from the capital Bangui, but their abuses prompted a backlash by Christian militias, known as 'anti-balaka'.  Prime Minister Mahamat Kamoun has struggled in his efforts to bring Seleka and Christian militia representatives into a power-sharing government and stop a cycle of deadly inter-religious clashes that has killed thousands.  "Faced with the chaotic situation in CAR...the coalition decides...to ask for the departure of Catherine Samba Panza and her prime minister," Edouard Patrice Ngaissona, who heads the anti-balaka coalition, said in a statement on Monday.
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> In the document, he blamed Interim President Samba Panza for failing to take action to release a number of anti-balaka members arrested in Bangui and accused her of embezzling financial aid from neighboring countries.  He also claimed she was seeking the return of soldiers from neighboring Chad, which withdrew from an African peacekeeping force in April following allegations of human rights violations and close ties with Seleka.  Samba Panza did not immediately react to the statement but government spokesman Modibo Walidiou Bachir rejected the accusations of corruption during an interview on local radio.
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## waltky (Oct 11, 2014)

Peacekeepers come under fire in C.A.R....

*Two killed, six peacekeepers wounded in Central African Republic*
_Sat Oct 11, 2014  - Two people were killed in fighting in the capital of Central African Republic and six peacekeepers from Burundi and Cameroon were wounded in an ambush, a spokeswoman for the United Nations mission in the country said on Saturday._


> The violence follows days of fighting that threatens the interim government of President Catherine Samba-Panza, who took office in January aiming to end two years of unrest in which thousands have died and more than 1 million have fled.  Samba-Panza said she would not step down in the face of heightened political pressure and there were signs late on Saturday that tensions could be easing as one militia group withdrew its call for her resignation.  "I will not resign. I must lead this country until the end of my mission," Samba-Panza told state radio.
> 
> The unrest is a struggle for power and resources in an impoverished country with reserves of gold and diamonds. Rival communities have also clashed across religious lines.  Those killed overnight include a gendarme and a local leader for a militia known as "anti-balaka", whose adherents follow Christianity and animism.  The peacekeepers were attacked in a neighborhood near the Bangui airport and two were seriously hurt, Myriam Dessables, a spokeswoman for the country's UN mission MINUSCA, told Reuters.
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## waltky (Dec 29, 2015)

Elections to be held in CAR...

*Central African Republic to hold national elections*
_Dec 29,`15  -- Central African Republic will hold much-delayed national elections Wednesday that residents and the international community hope will bring stability after years of sectarian violence._


> A transitional government has steered the nation toward elections that have been delayed several times. The National Election Authority proposed the most recent delay, from Dec. 27 to Dec. 30, to deal with technical and organizational difficulties.  "This time, everything will be fine throughout Central African Republic," said Julius Rufin Ngoadebaba, spokesman for the National Electoral Authority. He shot down allegations that illegal voter cards had been distributed.  Central African Republic citizens voted yes to a constitutional referendum on Dec. 13, a vote seen as test for national elections. Violence killed five in a neighborhood in the capital, Bangui, and unrest and violence elsewhere around the country saw delayed votes and results.  "The constitutional referendum vote allowed the electoral and country's authorities to unseal the difficulties that needed to urgently be addressed," said Minister of Territorial Administration Modibo Bachir Walidou. "Now we can say that elections on Dec. 30 will take place knowing exactly what needs to be done, by whom and how."
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> Voters are caught between hope and doubt for Wednesday's polls.  "We are ready and determined to go ahead with the vote of Dec. 30, because it is time our country comes out of this long crisis, recovers its institutions and that Central Africans find reconciliation and live together," said Mireille Djapou, a 26-year-old student.  The vote comes nearly a month after Pope Francis visited Central African Republic and called for peace and reconciliation between Christians and Muslims.  U.N. peacekeepers will be deployed to sensitive areas and 1,800 police and gendarmes will control other areas, officials said. Some 300 armed forces from the country will look after polling stations in the capital.
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## waltky (Jan 5, 2016)

Vote count halted to prevent unrest after fraud alleged...

*C. African Republic candidates call for halt to vote count*
_Jan 4,`16 -- Counting of Central African Republic's national elections must stop, about two-thirds of the 30 presidential candidates said Monday, alleging fraud._


> Some 20 candidates made the demand at a news conference, after nearly 40 percent of the country's vote had been counted. About 16 candidates signed a declaration, saying the move will prevent unrest.
> 
> Nearly 2 million Central African Republic citizens were registered to vote Dec. 30 in much-delayed national elections meant to replace a transitional government and bring stability after years of sectarian violence. Some irregularities in voting were cited.  "The nature of manipulations fundamentally calls to question the sincerity, transparency and credibility of the elections," said Theodore Kapou, an independent candidate and spokesman for the contesting candidates. "These serious shortcomings that have marred the electoral process will lead to the population's rejection of the results, inevitably causing new conflagration in the country."
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## waltky (Oct 5, 2017)

Human Rights Watch: Widespread rape, sexual slavery in CAR feud...




*Widespread rape, sexual slavery in CAR feud: HRW*
_Fri, Oct 06, 2017 | WEAPONS OF WAR:Sexual violence is being used by the Seleka rebels and the Christian anti-balaka militias fighting them, and could be crimes against humanity_


> Armed groups in Central African Republic (CAR) are using rape and sexual slavery as weapons of war in an abuse that may amount to crimes against humanity, a rights group said yesterday.  Thousands have died and a fifth of Central Africans have been uprooted in a conflict that broke out after the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted former Central African Republic president Francois Bozize in early 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias.  Both the Seleka and the anti-balaka have sexually assaulted, raped and enslaved civilians as revenge against those believed to be supporting the other side, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.
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> Yet not a single militant on either side of the conflict has been arrested or tried for sexual violence, HRW said.  “Armed groups are using rape in a brutal, calculated way to punish and terrorize women and girls,” HRW researcher Hillary Margolis said following the release of a report documenting 305 cases of rape and sexual slavery against women and girls.  “Under international law, these offences ... may be considered crimes against humanity and war crimes,” HRW said.  Victims told HRW how militants often raped them in front of their children, and abused, attacked and killed their relatives.
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