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A key Russian adviser in the Central African Republic on Friday urged rebels engaged in an offensive against President Faustin Archange Touadera to hand over their leaders.
“I appeal to members of armed groups: the only way out for you is to handcuff your leaders and hand them over to the security forces,” said Valery Zakharov, who is Touadera’s national security adviser.
His statement – issued under CAR’s presidential letterhead – came a day after the government said a sixth city seized by the rebels had been taken over with help from Russia and Rwanda.
Since 2018, Russia has openly supported the Touadera regime, which controls only about a third of a deeply poor country plagued by partisan and community conflicts.
Most of its territory is divided between numerous armed bands.
As part of a bilateral defense agreement, many Russian paramilitaries from the Wagner group, a private shadow military company, are operating in the CAR. Their official status is to form the country’s army.
They were joined by hundreds of other Russian paramilitaries, as well as Rwandan troops, who were airlifted after rebels advanced into the capital ahead of the presidential elections on December 27.
The offensive was launched by six militias united in an alliance calling themselves the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC).
Zakharov noted that the six were among 14 armed groups that signed a peace pact with Touadera’s government two years ago in Khartoum.
“Some military-political groups have crossed the red line, refused to carry out the terms of the agreement signed in Khartoum and can no longer be part of the political process,” Zakharov warned.
“The leaders of these factions should now be banned.”
On Monday, the 50-day rebel blockade of the capital Bangui collapsed when the first aid convoy arrived in the capital.
On Thursday, the government announced that the strategic town of Beloko had been “liberated” by the army “and their Russian and Rwandan allies” – the sixth since the rebel offensive began.
On January 18, the Constitutional Court confirmed that Touadera had won the presidential election with 53.16% of the vote.
But barely a third of potential votes were cast due to intimidation of voters in areas controlled by militias.
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