Central African Republic: serious abuses reported in the north-west of the country
The north-west is the stronghold of the 3R rebel group, which opposes significant resistance to the Central African armed forces.
(illustrative image) AFP - CAMILLE LAFFONT
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1 min
The security situation is deteriorating worryingly in the north-west of the country, the main source of resistance to the reconquest of the territory by government forces.
Reports indicate serious abuses involving rebel groups, Central African armed forces and Russian paramilitaries fighting alongside them, but almost all of the victims are civilians.
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With our correspondent in Bangui,
Carol Valade
Mass executions, rapes, burnt villages, a helicopter attack….
The information coming from the north-west is patchy but particularly alarming.
Security sources confirm the seriousness as well as the multiplication of incidents in recent weeks, but access is currently almost impossible for humanitarians.
As for Minusca, which recently had to suspend its demining operations in the area.
The region, rich in minerals, is the stronghold of the 3R rebel group, which opposes significant resistance to the Central African armed forces.
The armed group, suspected of serious abuses as well as reprisals against the populations, issued a statement on Saturday accusing the Russian paramilitaries who are fighting alongside government forces of several "
massacres
" targeting, according to it, the Fulani and Gbayan communities.
The rebels put forward a death toll of more than a hundred civilians.
Unverified numbers.
“
Fake news
”, according to the spokesperson for the presidency, Minister Albert Yaloke Mokpeme, who however confirms the arrest of several combatants from the 3R group on the Cameroonian side of the border.
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Central African Republic