23, August 2018
Central African Republic: Armed groups want blanket amnesty, plus 96 other demands 0
Blanket amnesty, renegotiating military deals with Russia and restructuring the army are among the several demands that armed groups in the Central African Republic have presented to an African Union expert panel seeking to broker peace in the country.
An AU document, seen by AFP, lists 97 demands by the armed groups in return for peace, with a government of national unity required along with the amnesty and a restructuring of the army.
The African Union has been leading a peace process in the Central African Republic but there has been little progress.
The C.A.R. crisis
CAR descended into violence in 2013 following the ouster of the majority-Christian country’s president, Francois Bozize, by a coalition of Muslim-minority rebel groups called the Seleka.
In response, Christians, who account for about 80 percent of the population, organised vigilante units dubbed “anti-balaka.”
France intervened militarily to help force out the Seleka before handing on to a UN peacekeeping mission.
However, the central government remains very weak, with its authority largely confined to Bangui, and violence has led to thousands of deaths.
According to a diplomat in Bangui, representatives of each armed group are expected to meet with the AU panel in the western town of Bouar on Monday to seek to “harmonise” their demands, before submitting the final list to the authorities.
But the government has so far refused to accept any conditions for the cessation of hostilities.
The Russian question
Another demand received by African Union experts is a review of military deals between the CAR and Russia.
Moscow has had a high diplomatic presence in the country in recent months and is seeking to organise a parallel mediation meeting on Saturday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, according to sources.
CAR spokesman Ange-Maxime Kazagui on Monday denied any government involvement in those talks and reaffirmed Bangui’s strong support for the African Union mediation.
Backed by the United Nations and the Central African Republic’s main partners, the African panel has also met with former presidents Michel Djotodia, in Benin, and Francois Bozize, in Uganda.
There have been numerous attempts at mediation in CAR since the start of the crisis, and seven peace deals have been signed, without any sign of calm being restored.
AFP
27, August 2018
Southern Cameroons War: Anxiety as Ambazonian refugees flood Taraba communities in Nigeria 0
NO fewer than 4,000 refugees from Southern Cameroon have invaded border communities in Kurmi and Ussa Local Government areas of Taraba State. The refugees, mostly women and children, fled their home country following escalation of hostilities between Francophone and Anglophone communities, over agitation for the independence of Southern Cameroon. Vanguard discovered that the host communities are groaning under the burden of increasing number of refugees, which could lead to humanitarian crisis in the area.
It’s ethnic cleansing— one of the refugees, Polycarp Ande, who fled from Furawa sub-division into Fikyu village, alleged that Cameroonian soldiers led the ethnic cleansing. According to him, hunger, lack of health care, lack of shelter and idleness were major challenges, which, he noted, in turn had ripple effects on their community, dominated by subsistence farmers. He explained that villagers and churches had been feeding them, and expressed worry over their increasing number amid meagre resources.
According to Ande, “some of our brothers, who went back to see how the situation was in our villages, keep running back as the onslaught is still going on. As at last Saturday, over 15 of our people came into Kpambo-piri in Ussa and more people keep coming into Nigeria every week. “Our children are the most affected because they can’t go to school and we want the government of Nigeria and the world to come to our aid.”
Village Head of Mubi-Toso, Yakubu Akama, and his counterpart in Fikyu village, Ukwe Ezra, in separate submissions, expressed concern over possible invasion of their terrain by the feuding parties. They further appealed to the Federal Government for adequate security and provision of relief materials for the refugees. It’s overwhelming, we need help.
Council boss and Chairman of Ussa Local Government Area, Rimamsikwe Hassan, for his part, lamented that the massive influx of Cameroonians into some communities in the council is overwhelming. He said: “The refugees have moved into Kpambo-piri, Jatau, Kanpiya and Fikyu village, with Fikyu having the least number of 250 refugees, including children, at the last count. “When they (refugees) first moved in, the Red Cross visited some of the villages to take statistics and promised to come back, but ever since they have not returned. We have equally written to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally-Displaced Persons, NCFRMI, but yet to get a reply from them. “However, the state government through SEMA brought relief materials for the victims, but we also want the Federal Government to come in and liaise with the Cameroonian authorities.”
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