Crisis grips capital as rebels continue offensive

Heavy machine-gun and artillery fire again rocked Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), on Monday following an incursion into and occupation of northern neighbourhoods by armed supporters of Gen Francois Bozize, the former chief of staff of the CAR army. Speaking on Radio France International on Saturday from France, where just last week he had been granted asylum, Bozize claimed responsibility for the attack and demanded that CAR President Ange-Felix Patasse enter into dialogue with the opposition or resign. Witnesses told IRIN that the assailants, who arrived in Bangui aboard Land Cruisers, entered the city unopposed and interacted peacefully with the population. "They are with us and they are not bothering anybody. Some are in military uniforms," a resident of rebel-held Gobongo neighbourhood told IRIN. However, he expressed fear that if government troops attacked, the local residents could be used as a human shield. Meanwhile, Libyan troops protecting Patasse's residence continued shelling northern neighbourhoods, namely PK 12, Gobongo, Boy Rabe, Combattant (where Bangui's Mpoko Airport is located) and Fouh, all known to be traditional strongholds of the former allies - Patasse and Bozize. Two Libyan fighter jets, believed to be spending nights in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo given the insecurity of Mpoko Airport, were also reported to be bombing opposition positions daily. A massive movement of the city's residents has continued, fleeing from besieged northern neighbourhoods to safer zones in the southern sections of the capital. Only military vehicles were seen on the streets, although large numbers of city residents were venturing out of their homes during moments of calm to inspect damage. The number of dead and injured was impossible to ascertain by Monday, although witnesses told IRIN that many civilians had been caught in crossfire between government troops and rebel forces. Apart from the estimated one-half of the city they occupy, Bozize's men have also captured Presidential Spokesman Prosper Ndouba. Ndouba, who has been allowed visits by his family, has called on the government to enter into negotiations with the rebels. CAR authorities remained silent on the siege until Sunday, when Minister of State for Communication Gabriel Jean Edouard Koyambounou issued the government's communique on government-owned Radio Centrafrique, the only radio station still broadcasting. "We have captured some of the rebels and their particulars show that they are from Chad," said Koyamounou, who urged the population not to mistreat any Chadian nationals residing peacefully in the CAR. In an effort to reassure the CAR population, he said the rebels, who had been given the choice to "lay down their arms or be annihilated", had already been surrounded by government forces. Koyamounou denied allegations by the Chadian government that Chadian rebels were preparing to attack Chad from Gordil, a CAR town about 1,000 km northeast of Bangui. CAR troops are supported by 200 Libyan soldiers, who were first sent to Bangui in the wake of a failed coup bid launched in May 2001 by former President Andre Kolingba. Meanwhile, residents in eastern neighbourhoods of Bangui told IRIN that many armed men believed to be the combatants of Jean-Pierre Bemba's Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) had crossed the Oubangui River from Zongo, DRC. Neither CAR nor MLC officials have confirmed this. Since the election of Patasse in 1993, the CAR has suffered repeated internal armed crises, these being the three mutinies of 1996-1997, the 28 May 2001 Kolingba offensive, and the November 2001 armed resistance of Bozize, when his supporters rallied against his attempted arrest for questioning in relation to the failed May 2001 putsch. Additionally, repeated clashes attributed to Bozize's supporters based in Chad and to the alleged Chadian rebel leader, Abdoulaye Miskine, based in CAR, have taken place along the two nations' common border since Bozize and soldiers loyal to him fled to Chad in November 2001. It had been hoped that the CAR-Chad conflict had been ended by a regional summit held in Libreville, Gabon, on 2 October. Under the Libreville accord, Miskine was due to be relocated to the West African country of Togo, while Bozize was later granted asylum in France. Furthermore, a regional armed force of some 350 men was to be deployed in the CAR in an effort to ease tensions. Regional analysts now fear that this latest crisis could lead to a rapid deterioration in relations between Chad and CAR. On Saturday, Amara Essy, the interim chairman of the Commission of the African Union (AU), issued a statement from AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, expressing concern over the situation in Bangui. He also condemned "the resurgence of violence, which undermines the ongoing efforts by CEMAC [Communaute Economique et Monetaire de l'Afrique Centrale], with the support of the African Union, the CEN-SAD [Communaute des Etats sahelo-sahariens] and the United Nations, aimed at building peace in Central African Republic". Essy appealed for an immediate end to the attack, adding there was "need for an urgent deployment of CEMAC troops in conformity with the decision adopted by the summit held in Libreville [Gabon] on 2 October 2002". He appealed to Member States and AU partners to give all necessary support to the efforts exerted by CEMAC and for the deployment of its troops. On Sunday, France, the former colonial ruler of the territory now known as CAR, issued a statement condemning all attempts to topple the Patasse government, and reaffirmed its report support for the CAR authorities. It called on all regions of the Central African region to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the CAR, and recalled the need to implement the Libreville accord.