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Pro-government forces in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Wednesday seized a stronghold of former President François Bozize, accused in December of plotting a coup, Prime Minister Firmin Ngrebada said.
“I welcome the capture of the town of Bossangoa by our forces and allies today,” he said on Facebook, referring to a key pro-Bozize town 280 kilometers (175 miles) north of the country. capital Bangui.
“Allies” is a term used by the CAR government to refer to Russian paramilitaries and Rwandan troops who support the besieged authorities against rebel groups.
A senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “the fighting is still going on” but “the resistance has been broken, the enemy has fled”.
In mid-December, six rebel groups united to launch an offensive against President Faustin Archange Touadera, just over a week before the presidential and legislative elections.
Central African Republic. By (AFP) The government said it acted in concert with Bozize, a former president who took power in 2003 and was ousted a decade later – an act that sparked a civil war along sectarian lines.
Russia and Rwanda have embarked military personnel to bolster CAR’s ill-equipped armed forces, and since January the government and its allies have gone on the offensive.
On February 17, the government said it had “completely liberated” Bambari, CAR’s fifth largest town, located in the center of the country 380 kilometers from Bangui, and captured “many prisoners”.
On February 20, he said he captured Ippy, a village 475 km northeast of Bambari.
Bozize fled abroad after being overthrown in 2013.
He returned in late 2019, fueling fears that the struggling nation might once again be plunged into a full-fledged conflict.
Violence remains endemic in a country where two-thirds of the territory is controlled by militias.
Touadera was reelected in the first round of voting, according to official figures, but the turnout was only 35% as many voters were unable to vote.
Bozize denies providing support for the six rebel groups, which teamed up in December as the Coalition of Patriots for Change, or CPC.
On January 4, the government launched an investigation into him for “rebellion”.
Thousands of people have died in CAR since 2013 and more than a quarter of the population of 4.9 million have fled their homes.
Of this number, 675,000 are refugees in neighboring countries.
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