CAR armed forces reclaim control of town from rebel groups

Taking control of Niem is a victory for the country’s armed forces in the war against the rebels of the Coalition of Patriots for Change.

CAPE TOWN, April 9 (ANA) – The Central African Republic armed forces have neutralised about 200 rebels and taken control of the strategic town of Niem, an official announced on Friday.

“The FACA (Central African Armed Forces) has taken control of the town of Niem,” Valery Zakharov, a security adviser to CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, tweeted on Friday.

“This is a very important strategic point. The CAR allies took part in the planning of the operation and provided moral support to the soldiers,” he added.

The town of Niem is located 63km from Bouar in the western part of the Central African country, according to news agency Anadolu.

Taking control of Niem is a victory for the country’s armed forces in the war it has waged against the rebels of the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) since December 2020.

The CPC was founded last December ahead of the country’s December 27 elections and launched a series of attacks against Touadéra’s government, taking control of a number of towns, AFP reported on Tuesday.

The CPC was formed by six rebel groups with the aim to disrupt the country’s elections and oust Touadéra.

On Monday, one of the most powerful armed groups in the country committed to withdraw from the coalition.

Ali Darassa, head of the Unity for Peace in Central Africa (UPC), which is mainly active in the east, said since the chaotic elections “the population has suffered terribly from insecurity, the health situation, famine and the lack of humanitarian assistance”.

He said the UPC was committed to the Khartoum Accord, a peace agreement signed in February 2019 between the government and 14 armed groups.

However, the government of the CAR on Thursday said it will not hold negotiations with the UPC group, according to global news agency Sputnik.

Ange Maxime Kazagui, a spokesperson for the government, told Sputnik that the government does not intend to hold negotiations with armed groups that do not wish to abide by a political peace agreement.

Touadéra, who was re-elected for a second term in January, faces a growing threat from the armed rebellion led by CAR’s former President Francois Bozize, who was recently confirmed as the co-ordinator of the CPC.

The country has experienced conflict since 2013 when predominantly Muslim rebels known as Seleka removed Bozize from power, plunging the country into violence and instability when their brutal rule gave rise to anti-Balaka Christian militias.

Tensions rose in the run-up to last December’s vote as the CPC launched a series of attacks nationwide.

More than 30,000 people have fled the country due to the violence surrounding the elections and tens of thousands more have been internally displaced, according to the United Nations.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher