At least six civilians were killed on Saturday, July 31 in the Central African Republic, after an attack by rebels in a village in the north-west of the country, near the border with Chad and Cameroon, announced the Mission of Nations united in the Central African Republic (Minusca).

"This morning at dawn, elements of the 3R group (Retour, Réclamation, Réhabilitation) launched a large-scale attack against the positions of the Central African armed forces in the village of Mann", more than 550 km from Bangui, "and in temporarily took control, "Lt. Col. Abdoulaziz Fall, spokesman for Minusca, told AFP.

"Six civilians were killed and there are several injured," he added.

"The situation is under control and control patrols have been conducted in the village and its surroundings by the peacekeepers."

The information was confirmed to AFP by Bernard Dillah, deputy for this region.

Rebel coalition that sought to overthrow the president

The deputy Martin Ziguélé, opposing the regime of President Faustin Archange Touadéra, for his part reacted in a press release, expressing his "sadness" after "the attack by the armed group 3R which resulted in seven civilian and military victims and a person kidnapped by the attackers ".

On Monday, a rebel attack wounded a peacekeeper and killed a Central African soldier in Obo, 900 km east of Bangui.

The 3Rs, mostly made up of Fulani, are one of the most powerful armed groups in the Central African Republic.

At the end of December, they participated in the rebel coalition which sought to overthrow President Touadéra and defeat his re-election.

Government forces have since succeeded in taking back from the rebels the towns and much of two-thirds of the country they had controlled for several years, mainly thanks to the reinforcement of Rwandan soldiers and the presence of hundreds of Russian paramilitaries fighting alongside them.

At the request of Bangui, Russia began in 2018 to deploy these paramilitaries, in particular to train the Central African army and ensure the close security of President Touadéra.

Their troops were reinforced at the end of 2020 to come to the rescue of a very destitute army in the face of the offensive launched by the rebels.

With AFP

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