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Unidentified “armed combatants” killed three Burundian peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations said on Friday, hours after a rebel coalition fighting the government called off a unilateral truce and reiterated its calls for the suspension of a scheduled general election. will take place on Sunday.
Attacks on UN peacekeepers and Central African troops took place in Dekoa, central Kemo prefecture, and Bakouma, southern Mbomou prefecture, the UN said in a brief. communicated.
“Three Burundian peacekeepers were killed and two others wounded,” the statement said, without providing further details.
The attacks came as voters in CAR were preparing for the presidential and legislative elections, seen as a key test for the country’s ability to regain stability after decades of political unrest and armed conflict.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera, in search of another term, is the favorite to win the presidential election in a peloton of 17 candidates.
But several opposition groups as well as a newly formed coalition of armed groups – the Coalition of Patriots for Change (PCC) – called for a postponement of the vote after the CAR’s highest court rejected several candidates for the elections. .
Among those excluded from the competition are former President François Bozize, who was ousted in 2013 following a rebellion led by predominantly Muslim Seleka fighters.
The CCP, formed on December 19 and drawn from militias that together control two-thirds of the country, launched an offensive last week and threatened to march on the capital, Bangui.
The government called the move a “coup”, accusing Bozize of stoking the CCP rebellion to disrupt the elections.
The former president denied this claim.
The rebel alliance’s progress was halted with international aid: Russia and Rwanda sent troops to consolidate Touadera’s government, while the UN mission in South Sudan also sent 300 troops from peace in the CAR on Thursday to help the country “secure the elections”.
The CCP announced a brief unilateral truce on Wednesday, but canceled it on Friday, saying the government had “cavalierly rejected” this “chance for peace.”
Hours later, the UN MINUSCA peacekeeping force said fighting had resumed in Bakouma, about 250 km east of Bangui. Armed men had sought to descend the main roads towards Bangui but were arrested, according to MINUSCA, which has more than 12,000 soldiers in uniform in the country.
Three days before the elections in the Central African Republic 🇨🇫, @UNPOL #MINUSCA intensifies its patrols and secures the collection centers for voter cards to reassure the population #Bangui and regions. pic.twitter.com/8a66GfvbxJ
– Pascal Champion (@UNPOL_RCA) December 24, 2020
Touadera, who campaigned in Bangui alongside Russian, Rwandan and UN guards, urged voters to come and vote fearlessly on Sunday.
“They are trying to come to Bangui. You Central Africans must open your eyes, ”he told his supporters during his last campaign rally. “Help our armed forces, the UN peacekeepers, MINUSCA, those of Rwanda and Russia. They give us a hand. Don’t let these armed fighters enter the city.
President of the Central African Republic Faustin Archange Touadera addresses supporters during a political rally at the stadium in Bangui, Central African Republic, December 19, 2020 [Antonie Rolland/ Reuters]
Several opposition candidates had stopped their campaigns some time ago, demanding a postponement of the elections. Jean Serge Bokassa, the son of the country’s self-proclaimed emperor, has meanwhile withdrawn from the race, citing security concerns. Opposition candidate Anicet Dologuele – backed by Bozize – is now Touadera’s most powerful challenger.
Catherine Soi of Al Jazeera, who reports from Bangui, said people “have no appetite for any kind of conflict … and want to exercise their right to vote”.
“When you come out of Bangui, in the countryside, people are very afraid. We hear of fighting in various places, of displaced people, ”she added.
According to the UN, growing insecurity and fears of attacks have panicked the population, 55,000 people having fled their homes.
Paul Melly, Africa Program member at Chatham House, said it would be “very difficult” to wait for the government to stop Sunday’s election.
“The United Nations, MINUSCA and the government have made considerable efforts to organize themselves to mobilize the electoral process,” he told Al Jazeera from London.
“They have registered everyone, they have distributed or started to distribute voter cards… a lot of people in Bangui want to go ahead and exercise their right to vote.”
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