Rebels say they will allow aid convoys to South Africa

Rebels in the Central African Republic said on Wednesday they would temporarily allow aid convoys to pass to the country’s capital, as an offensive by pro-government forces pushed them out of several towns.

The announcement by the rebels who previously controlled about two-thirds of the impoverished country came after the Central African Republic’s army and its Rwandan and Russian allies took over a series of towns in recent days.

“Contacts and negotiations have taken place with humanitarian providers to exceptionally open a humanitarian corridor for NGOs,” the rebel alliance Coalition of Patriots for Change (PCC) said in a statement.

He said he would temporarily allow aid deliveries along a key supply route from the Cameroonian border to the capital Bangui, but cautioned against “any deviation from the arrangements that made the ‘subject of negotiations’.

Since launching an offensive in December, the rebels have sought to cut off the capital, according to the UN.

But since the end of January, the country’s army with Rwandan soldiers and Russian paramilitaries deployed to help consolidate the government of President Faustin Archange Touadera have engaged in a counter-offensive to free the road to the border and allow deliveries of ‘help.

Six towns have since been taken over – Boda, Boali, Bossembele, Bossemptele, Yaloke and Bouar.

On Monday, a humanitarian convoy was able to reach Bangui under the escort of UN peacekeepers after a 50-day blockade by the rebels.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said about 57% of the country’s population, which numbered around 4.9 million, will need assistance and protection this year.

The country is among the least developed countries in the world and thousands of people have died since civil war broke out in 2013.