Central African Republic - The African Mirror

Jan

2021

French warplanes fly over Central African Republic amid rebel offensives

ANTOINE ROLLAND and SUDIP KAR-GUPTA REBELS attacked two towns in the Central African Republic yesterday as French warplanes flew over in an apparent attempt to deter an advance on the capital after a disputed election. The attacks on Bouar, 440 km (275 miles) northwest of the capital and Grimari, 300 km northeast of Bangui, were the latest by a coalition of armed rebels backed by former president Francois Bozize. The rebels had threatened to march on the capital and disrupt the December 27 general election after Bozize's candidature was rejected by the country's highest court. They attacked towns close to…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Ten candidates call for election re-run

NEWS

TEN defeated presidential candidates in the Central African Republic are calling for the result of a December 27 election to be annulled and the vote repeated, citing irregularities and low turnout, according to a joint statement. On Monday, the electoral commission declared President Faustin-Archange Touadera the winner of the race, with voter turnout of over 76% despite an offensive by rebel groups seeking to derail the vote. However, only half of the country's 1.8 million eligible voters were able to register for the vote due to the violence. Ten of the 17 candidates are now rejecting this result, saying turnout…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Opposition in Central African Republic calls for repeat of disrupted election

NEWS

ANTOINE ROLLAND A group of influential opposition politicians in the Central African Republic has called for an annulment of last Sunday's election, saying that a third of voters were unable to cast their ballot because of insecurity. Voting took place amid an offensive by armed groups in rural areas long beyond the reach of government control in the sparsely-populated country of 4.7 million people. In the build-up, the government relied on United Nations' peacekeepers to deliver election materials to the provinces by plane because roads were made unpassable by heavy rains or rebel checkpoints. Results are expected to trickle in…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Violence closed 800 polling stations in Central African Republic

NEWS

MORE than 14% of polling stations in the Central African Republic failed to operate during Sunday's presidential and legislative election due to armed rebels who attacked voters and barred electoral staff, the electoral commission has announced. Around 800 out of a total 5,408 polling stations nationwide did not open, Theophile Momokouama, an executive of the electoral authority, told a news conference in Bangui. "There were localities where voters were brutalized, threatened with death. The electoral staff were forbidden to deploy on the ground," Momokouama said. The diamond- and gold-rich nation of 4.7 million has struggled to stabilise due to a…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Central African Republic votes ‘massively’ amid sporadic rebel gunfire

NEWS

ANTOINE ROLLAND CENTRAL African Republic residents have turned out in huge numbers for presidential and legislative elections, the head of the U.N. mission said, despite rebels opening fire in some areas to try to scare away voters. Rebel groups hostile to President Faustin-Archange Touadera, who is seeking a second term, have carried out attacks and threatened to march to the capital and disrupt the election after the constitutional court this month rejected several candidates, including former President Francois Bozize. Touadera is considered the favourite in the field of 17 candidates. Vote counting began on Sunday and full provisional results are…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Central African Republic opposition calls for election delay due to violence

NEWS

ANTOINE ROLLAND CENTRAL African Republic's main opposition coalition on Sunday demanded the December 27 general election be postponed due to violence by armed groups outside the capital Bangui, while the government insisted the vote would go ahead. On Saturday, the authorities accused former president Francois Bozize of plotting a coup after his candidacy was rejected, as U.N. peacekeepers dispersed armed rebel groups occupying roads and towns near Bangui. Fighting was ongoing in several towns, including Mbaiki, about 100 km (62 miles) from Bangui, according to one security source and two humanitarian sources. Francois Bozize The opposition alliance, called Cod2020, which…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Central African Republic court rejects ex-president Bozize’s candidacy

NEWS

THE top court in the Central African Republic (CAR) has rejected the candidacy of former President Francois Bozize in a December 27 election, in which he planned to run against incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadera. The court said in its ruling that Bozize, 74, did not satisfy the "good morality" requirement for candidates because of an international warrant and U.N. sanctions against him for alleged assassinations, torture and kidnapping. Bozize, a former general and army chief, was overthrown in a 2013 rebellion by a coalition of mainly Muslim rebels from the north, plunging the majority Christian nation into a violent civil war…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Children head to diamond mines in pandemic-hit Central African Republic

HUMAN RIGHTS

ANTOINE ROLLAND SINCE the coronavirus forced his school to close in March, Papin has been working six days a week at a diamond mine in the Central African Republic (CAR) - hauling sacks of mud and rubble under a hot sun. He is among a dozen children working at the open-pit mine near the southern town of Ngoto, where about 100 miners use shovels and sieves to scour the red earth for diamonds. It is back-breaking work and Papin longs to return to the classroom. "I came here to help my big brother," Papin, who said he was 16 but…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Central African Republic President Touadera announces second term bid

NEWS

ANTOINE ROLLAND CENTRAL African Republic's President Faustin-Archange Touadera had declared he would stand for a second term in the December election, pressing on with preparations for a vote that the opposition wants to be delayed due to concerns over voter registrations. The main opposition coalition is questioning the credibility of the election, after instability in the region and the coronavirus pandemic disrupted voter rolls and required parliament to tweak the electoral calendar. Faustin-Archange Touadera made his candidacy announcement to a crowd of 6,000 supporters in a sports hall in the capital Bangui that had been repainted for the occasion in…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Central African Republic seeks justice for rural victims of sexual violence

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

PACOME PABANJI RESTORING court operations in rural parts of the war-torn Central African Republic is vital to tackling sexual violence and ensuring victims can seek justice, a top government official said, as the coronavirus pandemic fuels gender-based abuse. Rape has been widely used as a weapon of war in the country of 4.6 million, which is still largely controlled by armed groups despite the signing of peace deals in 2019 to end a long civil war, according to the United Nations. Aline Gisèle Pana, minister for women, the family and child protection, said the government's priority was to deploy magistrates…