August 04, 2018 New recruits for the Central African Armed Forces
(FACA) march in formation during an award presentation in Berengo.
FLORENT VERGNES / AFP
A rebel coalition that has been fighting the government
in Central African Republic said Friday it was calling off a
three-day ceasefire ahead of a tense general election on the
weekend.
The Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), which began an
offensive against the government a week ago, said in a statement it
had “decided to break the 72-hour truce it had imposed on itself
and resume its unrelenting march towards its final objective”.
In the statement, which was confirmed to AFP as authentic by two
of the six groups in the coalition, the CPC said that it made the
decision “faced with “the irresponsible stubbornness of the
government”.
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Of Emergency
The ceasefire’s signatories had “invited the authorities to
observe the ceasefire over the same period” and called on President
Faustin Archange Touadera to suspend Sunday’s presidential and
legislative election.
But government spokesman Ange-Maxime Kazagui dismissed the
ceasefire on Thursday, saying it was “a non-event” and that “we
haven’t seen these people stop what they’re doing”.
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The rebel coalition said Friday the government had “cavalierly
rejected” this “chance for peace”.
“Several attacks followed on positions occupied by the patriots
of the CPC,” its statement said.
The authenticity of the statement was confirmed by two armed
groups — the 3R and the Popular Front for the Rebirth of Central
Africa (FPRC).
General Bobo, the leader of 3R, told AFP that “now either the
government disperses us, or we march on Bangui, which is our final
objective”.
Fighting had resumed in Bakouma, about 250 kilometres (155
miles) east of the capital Bangui, according to Vladimir Monteiro,
spokesman for the UN’s MINUSCA peacekeeping force.
The CPC was created on December 19 by armed groups who accuse
Touadera, the frontrunner in the Sunday’s election, of trying to
fix the vote.
Its components are drawn from militia groups that, together,
control two-thirds of the country.
At the weekend, the government accused Touadera’s ousted
predecessor, Francois Bozize, of fomenting a coup with the rebels,
a charge he denies.
Gunmen had sought to advance down the main highways towards
Bangui, but were stopped, according to MINUSCA.
AFP
Two thousand Nigerians and foreign nationals have been rescued
from kidnappers in Zamfara State, Governor Bello Matawalle has
said.
![image](/2020/10/lawreport.jpg")
The governor said they were rescued in the past 19 months under
his watch, adding that the feat was made possible by using former
bandits as negotiators.
![image](/2020/10/NWLRland.jpg")
Matawalle gave the information when he hosted the National
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Uche Secondus who
was in Abuja to condole him on the loss of eight members of the
emir’s entourage.
According to him, no ransom was paid in the rescuing of
kidnapped victims in the state, adding that logic and dialogue had
always been deployed.
The governor stated that President Muhammadu Buhari was
adequately briefed on every security measures undertaken to secure
lives and properties.
Matawalle said his resolve to operate an open door policy was to
offer support to security agencies in the state.
He said: “We have recovered a lot of dangerous weapons which was
given to the security agencies of Nigeria and we have rescued about
2,000 kidnapped victims including some foreign nationals.
“These include people from China, Korea, Niger republic, Burkina
Faso and even Central Africa who were kidnapped and taken to
Zamfara state.
“All we are concerned with is to see our people go to sleep with
their eyes closed and that is the responsibility of every
government to provide security for the lives and properties of
which we are doing.”
Matawalle urged all state governors to put aside political
differences and put a united front to rid the country of all
criminal elements and activities, especially banditry.
Secondus, who warned that in the absence of law and order there
would be anarchy, said “security and hunger knows no party.”
He described as an “uncommon feat” the rescue of the over 300
students of the Government Science Secondary School, abducted from
Kankara, Katsina State.