Bangui:
UN peacekeeping troops stated they have retaken handle of a city in the Central African Republic captured two weeks ago by armed groups waging an offensive against the government of President Faustin Archange Touadera.
Rebels abandoned their positions in Bangassou, 750 kilometres (470 miles) east of the capital Bangui, and fled the city following an ultimatum on Friday from the UN peacekeeping force MINUSCA, the mission’s spokesman Vladimir Monteiro stated late Saturday.
“The city of Bangassou is under the complete control of MINUSCA,” Monteiro stated, although he added that the UN force “remains on alert” to avert any rebel return or other actions against civilians, the state authority and UN troops.
Armed groups waging a nationwide offensive captured the city on January 3, forcing several residents to flee across the border to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It’s a great joy,” Juan Jose Aguirre, the bishop of Bangassou, told AFP, following the UN operation to regain handle of the city.
“After 13 days sleeping outdoors, people will be able to return to their homes,” he added.
Lieutenant Colonel Abdoulaziz Fall, spokesman for MINUSCA’s military element, stated the UN force intervened to quit attempts at looting overnight Friday to Saturday.
“The situation is calm and under control and positions that had been occupied by armed groups are no longer,” Fall stated.
“The looting of the city of Bangassou by the rebels… before their retreat on the arrival of the reinforcements made up of elements of the Rwandan contingent of MINSUCA, shows up one of the aims of these foreign mercenaries: loot our riches and the property of our people,” Prime Minister Firmin Ngrebada stated in a Facebook post.
Six of the most strong armed groups, who have occupied roughly two-thirds of the nation for eight years, united a month ago to wage an offensive.
The coalition announced their offensive ahead of the December 27 presidential and legislative vote, aimed at stopping Touadera’s re-election.
Over 60,000 refugees
On January 4, Touadera was declared the victor, while the political opposition cried foul.
The benefits accounted for only about half of registered voters, as hundreds of thousands have been unable to cast their vote in regions held by rebels.
On Wednesday, the rebel forces mounted their closest attack but to Bangui ahead of getting pushed back with the loss of a peacekeeper, the UN stated.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR stated on Friday that the quantity of persons fleeing violence following the presidential election had doubled in a week to 60,000.
More than 50,000 of these had fled across the Ubangui River to the Democratic Republic of Congo — with 10,000 persons arriving in the DRC on Wednesday alone as rebels attacked close to the Bangui.
Landlocked Auto is a single of the world’s poorest nations and has noticed a string of coups and wars given that it gained independence from France in 1960.
In 2013, it spiralled after more into bloodshed when then-president Francois Bozize, who had himself seized energy in a coup a decade earlier, was ousted by a mostly Muslim coalition referred to as the Seleka.
MINUSCA has virtually 12,000 military personnel. The peacekeeping mission, initially deployed in 2014, has been extended till November, 2021.
()