Four French soldiers who were escorting a general from the UN force were arrested Monday afternoon at Bangui airport in the Central African Republic, the French embassy tweeted.
The four men were still in detention in the evening, confirmed to AFP a local diplomatic source on condition of anonymity.
"The close protection team of General (Stéphane) Marchenoir, Chief of Staff of the Minusca Force (United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic), made up of four French soldiers, was arrested this afternoon at the Bangui airport," the embassy said in a statement posted on its Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Many private accounts spread on social networks in the evening in accusations against the French soldiers accusing them in particular of having wanted to "assassinate" the Central African President Faustin Archange Touadéra, with many photos of their alleged vehicle and "seized" weapons. during their arrest.
Struggle for influence between Paris and Moscow
This incident comes at a time when relations between France and its former colony are increasingly tense, exacerbated by a fierce struggle for influence between Paris and Moscow, in this country in civil war since 2013.
France accuses the Central African Republic of being "accomplice" of an anti-French campaign orchestrated by Moscow on social networks and certain media, and accuses the Russian private security company Wagner of having seized power and the country's resources.
With AFP
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