Central African Rebels Release 19 Troops Seized In February

Nineteen troops who were taken by rebels in the northern Central African Republic in February have been released, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday

Bangui, Central African Republic, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Apr, 2023 ) :Nineteen troops who were taken by rebels in the northern Central African Republic in February have been released, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday.

Out of 20 soldiers seized in the raid in Vakaga region on February 14, 19 have been released and will arrive shortly in the town of Birao, "and will remain there until their return to Bangui can be organised," deputy mission chief Yves Van Loo told AFP, referring to the car capital.

The soldiers "seem to be in good health and able to make the journey," he said.

The troops had been seized by a group called the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) after clashes at the village of Sikikede that the government had said inflicted "considerable losses" on its forces.

The landlocked CAR is one of the poorest and most troubled countries in the world, despite an abundance of mineral wealth.

It remains scarred by a 2013 civil war, unleashed by a coup against then president Francois Bozize, in which armed groups battled along sectarian lines.

The CPC is an alliance of militias created in 2020 in a bid to overthrow Bozize's successor, Faustin Archange Touadera.

In a statement, the CPC said it had taken a "voluntary and unilateral decision to release the 20 soldiers who had been taken prisoner." Van Loo said the 20th soldier had been wounded and was receiving medical care.

"He will be picked up at a different location later," he said.

Armed forces spokesman Augustin Ndando Kpako said the release of the 20 "had been our greatest priority... we wanted to see them free." The CPC advanced on Bangui in December 2020 as presidential elections loomed.

They were thwarted with the help of Russian paramilitaries, who were rushed in to shore up the country's fragile military after an appeal by Touadera.

Their presence became the trigger for a chill in relations between CAR and France, the country's former colonial power and traditional ally.

France, the United Nations and others say they are mercenaries from the Wagner group, who have been linked with atrocities and looting of resources.

Facing a mounting anti-French campaign allegedly steered by Russia, France suspended military cooperation and last December pulled its last troops from the country.