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BANGUI — About 200 rebel fighters in the Central African Republic (CAR) who surrendered to African Union (AU) troops at the weekend in the town of Sibut fled overnight, a military source said on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, they fled in the night. They’ve gone to Kaga Bandoro,” said an officer in the AU force (Misca).
Kaga Bandoro is some 160km north of Sibut, the town which had been held for several days by former members of the mainly Muslim Seleka rebellion — causing terrified residents to flee — before Misca troops recaptured it on Saturday.
It is thought the rebels fled because of fear of revenge attacks by members of the anti-balaka Christian militia.
The rebels had initially agreed to go into the peacekeepers’ custody.
According to Col Abdelkader Djelani, a Seleka officer who was part of the group which fled Sibut, the rebels were concerned about the lack of security around them. “We want solutions and really secure camps.
“In Bangui, Seleka confined to camps . . were attacked by anti-balaka.”
Col Djelani said that the former Seleka rebels were “ready to disarm” depending on the conditions.
Some of the residents of the town were cautiously thinking of returning home after news that AU soldiers were now in control. But one resident, Innocent, said there were still fears among the general population because the “Seleka were very violent with us”.
A Gabonese contingent from Misca entered the town on Saturday.
The taking of the northern town was the latest challenge faced by peacekeepers struggling to maintain order in a country the size of France with a long history of coups, attempted coups and army mutinies. Misca is supported by a French contingent of about 1,600 troops, and the European Union has committed a further 500 troops.
But the interior of the country is a lawless zone ruled by warlords, with few or no foreign troops present, and newly elected transitional president, Catherine Samba Panza, has said more troops are needed to restore stability.
The capture of Sibut came on the same day that the peacekeeping mission in the CAR received pledges of $132 million from other African states.
“We will be judged and measured by our efforts to protect the people of the Central African Republic,” United Nations (UN) deputy secretary-g eneral Jan Eliassonhe said. “We must not let them down . . . we must not fail to prevent another huge tragedy in Africa.”
AU officials said a total of $410 million was required just to keep Misca going for one year. Almost $315 million has now been raised or pledged for the CAR.
The CAR descended into chaos 10 months ago when the Seleka overthrew the government and installed one of their leaders, Michel Djotodia, as the country’s first Muslim president.
Mr Djotodia failed to control his Seleka fighters, who began targeting people from the Christian majority, prompting the emergence of self-defence groups that launched revenge attacks on Muslims amid reports of murder, mutilation, rape and looting by both sides.
By the time Mr Djotodia was effectively ousted by regional leaders on January 10, for his failure to end the spiralling bloodshed, about a million people were displaced in a population of 4,6-million.
The installation of a new government has failed to stem the violence, which has escalated in recent days.
Red Cross officials said they had collected 30 bodies in the past three days after fighting in the capital Bangui that also left 60 people wounded.
Ms Samba Panza on Friday criticised the rebels’ latest actions, saying they aimed to “destabilise her mandate” at a time when the government was calling for tolerance and national reconciliation.
About 80 percent of the CAR’s population is Christian, but it has a significant Muslim minority who live mainly in the north of the country.
The violence has created a humanitarian crisis, and the UN World Food Programme said in Geneva that it urgently needed $95m to provide food assistance. — AFP.
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