New attack in the Central African Republic attributed to armed group 3R

Members of the Central African Armed Forces, January 10, 2020 © AFP - FLORENT VERGNES

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2 min

Some 33 people, including two soldiers, were killed on Monday, November 29, in a simultaneous attack attributed to 3R rebels against two villages in the northwest of the country, in the Ouham-Pendé prefecture, in the Central African Republic.

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This is the heaviest toll since the establishment by

mid-October of a

. The 3Rs are singled out for numerous abuses that they continue to commit in this region. La Minusca accuses this armed group of having killed 12 civilians a few days earlier. Regarding this attack, the local authorities speak of reprisals following the seizure of a rebel communications vehicle in this region close to the Cameroonian border, and located some 500 km north-west of Bangui.

This communication vehicle was found in the bush on Sunday and was sent directly to the locality of Kaïta, according to the sub-prefect of Bocaranga, Isaiah Gbanin.

The inhabitants of this village then expressed their concerns to the authorities.

These fears will be verified the next day because hundreds of armed rebels simultaneously attacked on Monday the town of Boy-ngou, which has housed a major

military base for two months

, and Kaïta, where there is a small detachment of soldiers.

Residents fled to Cameroon

According to testimonies gathered by the administrative official, the rebels launched their surprise attack from 4:00 am. One party stared at Central African soldiers while others lashed out at civilians. The attackers finally retreated into the bush around 10 a.m., leaving behind the bodies of 29 civilians massacred in Kaïta, as well as 2 other civilians and two soldiers killed in Boy-ngou, according to the prefect.

Since then, Kaïta, which is preparing to become the capital of the commune of Lacrenon, has been emptied of its more than 8,000 inhabitants and Boy-ngou, of its thousand residents.

All of them found refuge in neighboring Cameroon, especially in the locality of Yamba.

"

" said Isaiah Gbanin.

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• Central African Republic