Central African Republic

A human rights lawyer appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council reported to the body Friday that the war-torn Central African Republic’s civilian population is being battered by both armed groups and security forces meant to protect them.

Russia recently sent a group of 600 military instructors to the Central African Republic to train the army, police, and national gendarmerie, Russia's foreign ministry said Friday. Moscow is in the spotlight after a United Nations report, seen by Reuters Tuesday, said Russian military instructors and local troops had targeted civilians with excessive force, indiscriminate killings, occupation of schools and large-scale looting.

Based on first-hand field experience with the UN in Africa, this CSS Mediation Resources by Silke Rusch analyzes how third parties engage armed groups in the negotiation and implementation of peace agreements with DDR provisions. A specific focus lies on this question in extremely fragile contexts, like the Central African Republic and Libya, where the state’s institutions are weak and non-​state armed groups control large territories and natural resources. The study also explores ways forward.

The Kremlin on Monday strongly rejected claims that Russian military instructors in the Central African Republic have been involved in killing civilians and looting homes. During a heated discussion at the U.N. Security Council last week, the United States, Britain and France accused Russian military contractors of committing human rights abuses in the conflict-stricken country. On Sunday, The New York Times cited a report to the Security Council that accused the Russians of killing civilians and looting homes during fighting earlier this year. 

The United States, Britain and France accused Russian mercenaries on Wednesday of operating alongside Central African Republic forces and committing human rights violations against civilians and obstructing U.N. peacekeeping -- charges immediately denied by Russia which denounced the Western nations for engaging in an “anti-Russia political hit job.”

Mankeur Ndiaye, CAR Special Representative and Head of MINUSCA voiced his concern over a military counter-offensive against the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) – an alliance of armed groups that launched attacks against forces loyal to the Government ahead of the presidential vote in December, which returned incumbent Faustin-Archange Touadéra to power.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly criticized the Central African Republic’s security and allied forces in a new report for an “unprecedented increase in hostile threats and incidents” targeting U.N. peacekeepers and alleged human rights abuses.

The entire cabinet steps down in the latest political crisis to hit the country, but the president’s spokesman says the PM could be asked to lead the new administration.

France has suspended financial support and military cooperation with the Central African Republic, accusing it of backing out of political commitments, and of being complicit in a Russian-backed disinformation campaign targeting France’s presence in Africa. … In December, Facebook removed three networks of fake accounts, two based in Russia, one in France, which it said were being used for interference campaigns in Africa, including in CAR.

Chad has sent men and material to reinforce the border with the Central African Republic despite agreeing to jointly investigate a CAR attack that left six Chadian soldiers dead, a provincial governor said Thursday. … CAR regularly accuses its northern neighbor of supporting armed rebel groups from inside Chad.