United Nations, United States | AFP | France, Russia and the United States were locked in negotiations Wednesday to overcome differences over peace efforts in the Central African Republic ahead of a deadline for renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission there. The Security Council must vote on prolonging …
Read More »France promises money, guns for C.Africa
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | France will give the Central African Republic, its restive former colony, aid of 24 million euros ($27.4 million) and weapons, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced on Friday. “France wishes to continue its historical partnership with the Central African Republic,” the minister told …
Read More »South Sudan diplomat mistaken for bandit, shot dead in Central Africa
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | An aide to South Sudan’s ambassador to Central Africa was shot and killed apparently by mistake in Bangui on Friday, by men from the Central Office for the Suppression of Banditry (OCRB), government sources told AFP. The incident took place after the OCRB …
Read More »C.African president lashes religious exploitation after bloodshed
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | The president of the Central African Republic on Wednesday accused militias of exploiting religious tensions a day after at least 24 people in the capital died in attacks that targeted a church and a mosque. Around 170 people were also wounded, sparking fears that …
Read More »Questions mount over bloodshed in C. African capital
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Nearly three weeks after more than two dozen people were killed in the worst fighting in the Central African Republic’s capital since 2015, what happened on that fateful day remains clouded by contradictions. On April 10, hours-long clashes unfolded in a mainly Muslim …
Read More »Ivory Coast to send 450 peacekeepers to C. Africa
United Nations, United States | AFP | Ivory Coast will send 450 troops to the Central African Republic to serve as UN peacekeepers in one of the most demanding missions, the foreign minister said Thursday. The announcement from Ivorian Foreign Minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh came after Gabon last month announced that …
Read More »UN soldier held for suspected arms trafficking in C.Africa
Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | The UN mission in the Central African Republic said Saturday it had launched a probe after the arrest of a peacekeeper suspected of trafficking arms in the perennially restive nation. “A MINUSCA blue helmet in civilian clothes was arrested in Bangui on Friday …
Read More »UN peacekeeper, 22 fighters killed in C. Africa attack
United Nations, United States | AFP | A peacekeeper was killed and 11 others wounded when a UN base was attacked early Tuesday in the Republic, triggering heavy fighting that also left 22 fighters dead. The anti-balaka mostly Christian militia launched the dawn attack on the temporary UN base in …
Read More »S.Sudanese flee only to find unrest across the border
Obo, Central African Republic | AFP | Refugees seeking safety from the atrocities of South Sudan’s unending conflict cross the border only to find themselves in one of Africa’s most war-torn and poorest countries. Neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) has been ravaged by armed groups vying to control the vast …
Read More »Gabon to quit UN peacekeeping force in C. Africa
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Gabon is to withdraw its forces from the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, a force known by its initials of MINUSCA. The cabinet on Thursday endorsed a request by the defence ministry to pull out the country’s troops in MINUSCA, “given the …
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