Central African Republic. Bangui condemns foreign plane bombing of soldiers and their Russian allies

The government of the Central African Republic confirmed on Monday (November 28) that a plane that arrived and departed in a neighboring country bombed a camp of soldiers and killed them “alliesRussian paramilitaries in the north, causing only damage.

Device “explosives were thrown in the city“From Bossangoa”targeting the base of our defense forces, our allies as well as the cotton factory“We read in a press release from the government of this country that the army and hundreds of fighters from the Russian private security group Wagner are fighting the rebels. Bangui always refers to the Russian paramilitary leaders as “Allies”.

This is the first time, at least publicly announced, of a suspected attack by a hostile aircraft since at least the start of the civil war in 2013. The attack was carried out shortly after midnight between Sunday and Monday. before 3 a.m. according to Bangui.

damage

“These explosives caused significant property damage“, the press release continues. “This plane, after committing these crimes (…) headed north (…) before crossing our borders;– assures the government. Chad is located north of Bossangoa, a town that was recently held by rebels. Cameroon borders the Central African Republic to the west, while Sudan and South Sudan lie far to the northeast.

An investigation has been started regarding the factaccommodate responsibilities“in”This abominable act committed by the enemies of peace (which) cannot go unpunished“and”all arrangements have already been made to deal with any eventuality“, the press release concludes.

Relations between Chad and the Central African Republic are tense. Bangui criticizes N’Djamena for allowing armed groups to use its territory as a staging base and sheltering their main leader, former president Francois Bozize. And N’Djamena in February 2022 accused an important Chadian rebel leader of seeking the support of the Wagners in the Central African Republic, even as the latter finally consolidated power in Chad.

In late May 2021, Chad accused the Central African Army of killing six of its soldiers, including five.kidnapped and executedin an attack on a border point in its territory. Njamena spoke “war crime“. And in December 2021, the soldiers of the two countries opened fire on both sides of the border, and a Chadian soldier went missing.

plane”they bombed the Russian base at 02:50 a.m. We heard at least four bombs, but because it was dark we didn’t see the plane, which had no lights and made little noise.Etienne Ngueretum, Regional Director of Water and Forests in Bossangoa, told AFP by phone.

According to him, two bombs exploded in his garden, which is adjacent to the cotton factory captured by the Russians. “The bangs were horrible, I’m fine, I just scraped my right leg from the debris– he assured. “I found nails and pieces of iron on the roof of my house, which is no longer usable“, he added.

Wagner

Bosangoa Mayor Pierre Denamger also confirmed the attack to AFP by phone. “It’s a plane without lights that we couldn’t identify, the target was a cotton factory that the Russians and the armed forces use as a base, not much damage.“, he commented.

President Faustin Archangel Tuadera’s government appealed to Moscow for help as the rebels advanced rapidly towards Bangui in December 2020. Russian paratroopers, including Wagner, landed in the hundreds, bolstering hundreds more in attendance since 2018.

The armed groups, which then occupied two-thirds of the Central African Republic, were quickly pushed back from most of their strongholds, but they continue to carry out sporadic guerrilla operations against the soldiers and their allies, especially between Bosangoa and the border with Chad.

The United Nations and Western capitals accuse the Central African military and Wagner of committing crimes against civilians and Mr. Touadera’s power to reward them with the country’s mineral resources, among the world’s poorest, particularly gold and diamonds.