The Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), the largest rebel movement in the Central African Republic (CAR), announced Tuesday, April 4 in a press release, the “unilateral and voluntary release of twenty soldiers from the Central African Armed Forces ( FACA)” taken hostage on February 14 during “violent fighting” in Sikikede and Ndah, in the north of the country.
This movement says it has started negotiations with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN Mission in CAR (MINUSCA) for the release of these soldiers, but the regime of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra had refused any negotiation. preferring, according to him, to use the language of arms.
The CPC denounces the government’s attitude of wanting to see soldiers dead rather than alive, motivated by the desire to subsequently accuse the CPC of crimes and discredit its fight. It deplores the authorities’ lack of interest and support for FACA soldiers sent to the battlefield without adequate material resources.
The rebels insist that they released the soldiers on the basis of their own decision, deploring President Touadéra’s refusal to assume his role as military leader by getting personally involved in the release of these hostages. The soldiers were handed over to the presence of the ICRC and MINUSMA.
Moreover, the rebellion has invited active soldiers not to continue to fight alongside Russian mercenaries, but to join it in its fight to chase the enemies of peace from the country.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1119 of 05/04/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
