Bangui population resentful at U.N., French forces in CAR

Protesters and peacekeepers played cat and mouse in the Central African Republic capital Bangui on Tuesday (September 29), erecting and dismantling barricades as people expressed resentment at United Nations MINUSCA troops and French Sangaris forces.

Fierce fighting between militia and U.N. peacekeepers erupted in the country on Tuesday as President Catherine Samba-Panza rushed back early from the U.N. General Assembly in a bid to end days of violence in which at least 37 people died.

Troops from the 10,000-strong U.N. mission patrolled the streets of the riverside capital clearing barricades erected by militia members.

“We feel that the U.N. troops deployed here with the Sangaris forces who came to help the Central African population are doing nothing. Today, it’s the exact same result because you can see that the people have been abandoned, and there really is no intervention. In fact, the population is desperate and doesn’t believe in these forces anymore,” said Bangui resident Erick Wilibiro.

Samba-Panza said the unrest was being stoked by politicians seeking to exploit it, including former president Francois Bozize, who was swept from power in the diamond-rich nation by the northern Muslim Seleka rebels in 2013.

His ousting plunged the majority Christian country into inter-religious violence in which more than 5,000 people have died. Under international pressure, Seleka handed power in January 2014 to an interim government led by Samba-Panza supposed to guide the country to elections next month.

“We were clear. We want the redeployment of the Central African army forces throughout the country, the departure of international forces that do absolutely nothing to prevent a crisis in the country, and we want those who have committed crimes to be tracked down by the justice system. That’s all we demand. Up until now, the current government has not reacted and doesn’t answer to our demands, which hurts us. So, we try to block the roads for our demands to be heard,” said Bangui University student Asseni Ngbo Roselin.

The worst outbreak of violence this year in Bangui raised concern among U.N. officials progress made in stabilising the country was being rolled back ahead of a presidential election due on October 18.

Talks on the situation were due to take place on Thursday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The Central African regional bloc (CEEAC) called on the United Nations to hand MINUSCA a more robust mandate to tackle violence and to ensure elections take place this year.

“I ask that the youth remove all the barricades. If you are a citizen, you must defend your country and strongly respect the laws of your country, so I am fervently calling on the Central African youths to remove them,” said civil society platform leader Herve Moulela.

However, a mass breakout of some 500 inmates from the central prison on Sunday (September 27) night, many of them anti-balaka members, fed fears of an increase of violence in the coming days despite the imposition of a curfew. Opposition parties have called a demonstration for Wednesday (September 30) morning.

Bozize has urged the start of a political dialogue after he was barred from running in the upcoming election.