Central African Republic

An alleged senior leader of a predominantly Muslim rebel group that ousted the president of Central African Republic in 2013 pleaded not guilty Monday to seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.

The governments of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali are using Wagner, the shadowy Russian private military company believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as an agent for attacks against civilians, new research suggests.

Since 2018, mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group, an effective secret army of the Kremlin, have been active in Central African Republic. They protect the impoverished country's regime in exchange for valuable mineral resources and deploy a massive propaganda campaign to cover up the massacres, rapes and torture they are accused of. Taking advantage of France's loss of influence in its former colony, Russia is seen to be using Central African Republic – a country ripped apart by decades of civil war – as a testing ground in a new battle for global influence. FRANCE 24's Carol Valade and Clément Di Roma report.

Last week the International Criminal Court (ICC) made public an arrest warrant for a rebel leader in the Central African Republic, Noureddine Adam. The warrant, which was previously sealed and dated back to January 2019, states that Adam is wanted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including torture.

Armed groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) must lay down their arms and engage in political dialogue, a UN-appointed independent human rights expert said on Friday, urging the international community to strengthen efforts to restore State authority and end impunity there.

[…] The decisions follow the holistic strategic review of the two missions and extend their mandates, until 9 August 2024 in the case of the civilian mission EUAM RCA, and until 20 September 2023 for the military one EUTM RCA. … The Council decided to maintain the strategic objectives of EUAM RCA, and to focus the mandate of EUTM RCA on the provision of strategic advice and accompanying education measures.

A sharp increase in prices of essential goods in the Central African Republic (CAR) linked to war in Ukraine, will likely have a devastating impact on the already dire humanitarian situation there in coming weeks, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.

A UN peacekeeping force said Wednesday it had expelled rebels from a town in the war-torn Central African Republic in order to “protect civilians.” Rebels from the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) overran the northeastern town of Ouanda-Djalle on June 16, causing some 7,000 residents to flee into the forest, pro-government lawmakers from the region said.

Efforts are underway to reinvigorate the Central African Republic’s political process, which has lapsed into a state of “de facto lethargy” even as horrific attacks against civilians have risen, the senior UN official in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.

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