Central African Republic: the trial of two anti-balaka leaders resumes in The Hague
View of the International Criminal Court, The Hague, The Netherlands (Illustrative image).
Peter Dejong / AP / SIPA - Peter Dejong / AP / SIPA
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
In The Hague, the hearings in the Central African case of Alfred Yekatom Rhombot / Patrice Edouard Ngaïssona resumed on Monday, August 30 after being adjourned in June.
A 16th witness, placed on condition of anonymity, was questioned about the attacks in the Bossangoa region during 2013.
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She is introduced as Witness P-2462. This Monday, in open court, she recounts her flight to the imam's residence during the attack on her village on December 5, 2013, her life as a displaced person in Bossangoa and then in Chad. In The Hague, questions to witnesses are often precise. The Court questions them about the perpetrators of crimes or their accomplices, some of whom are no doubt still active. Witness P-2462's answers are often short and full of emotion. But more often than not, it was behind closed doors that she recounted the events: her house burned down, and then her rape ...
At the time, Bossangoa was in the hands of the Seleka, an alliance of Muslim-majority armed groups that seized power by force in Bangui, 300 km away. Many abuses are committed. In reaction,
anti-balaka militias organized themselves
. Muslim populations assimilated to the Seleka are particularly targeted. In September and then in December 2013, the villages surrounding Bossangoa were attacked by these anti-balaka. Several hundred Muslim residents are killed, their homes set on fire, their livestock killed or stolen, Human Rights Watch notes in one of its reports.
Alfred Yekatom Rhombot, denim jacket, wool scarf, and
Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssonna
, glasses and blue suit, attended the hearing.
They were respectively the commander of a group of about 3,000 elements and the "general coordinator" of the anti-balaka.
► To read also: Central African Republic: the trial of two anti-balaka commanders opens before the ICC
If Witness P-2462 is protected by all possible anonymity measures, it is because the trial continues to resonate in the Central African Republic. Assassinations, looting, destruction of homes ... The populations were once again victims of multiple violence. In Bossangoa in early March, 14,000 people were displaced. In all, nearly 78,000 people have fled their homes and are now counted in Ouham prefecture. In June, this prefecture was also among the most affected by violence against humanitarian personnel.
The Bossangoa region is often the subject of tension because it is strategic.
Cradle of the anti-balakas, it is also the region of origin of François Bozizé.
Prevented from running for the election last December, the former president became coordinator of the new armed coalition, the CPC.
At the start of the year, when Bozizé had withdrawn to Bossangoa, the armed counteroffensive was quick.
The hearing was adjourned in the afternoon, and will resume tomorrow morning with questions from the defense.
And it is possible in the Central African Republic in Bangui to attend the live broadcast of the hearing at the "public information center" which is located at the level of the ICC office.
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Central African Republic
International justice