Coup attempt continues to rock capital, human toll unclear

Government forces loyal to Central African Republic (CAR) President Ange-Felix Patasse and rebel soldiers seeking to unseat him held their positions on Tuesday in the nation's capital, Bangui. While sporadic heavy fighting was reported, two Libyan fighter jets were flying over city, believed to be mapping rebel positions for a future bombing raid. CAR troops are supported by about 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. Thousands of people are reportedly fleeing to the town of Mbaiki, about 175 km southwest of Bangui. The number of dead and injured remained impossible to ascertain by Tuesday, although witnesses continued to tell IRIN that many civilians had been caught in crossfire between government and rebel forces. Early on Tuesday, IRIN encountered three young militiamen from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who had just surrendered their weapons to armed supporters of Gen Francois Bozize, the former chief of staff of the CAR army, who has claimed responsibility for the uprising. The militiamen said they were returning immediately to the DRC because they "didn't want to die". They would not say if they were affiliated with the Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba's Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC). Apart from the estimated one-half of the city they occupy, Bozize's men have also captured Patasse's spokesman, Prosper Ndouba. Ndouba, who has been allowed visits by his family, has called on the government to enter into negotiations with the rebels. As for Patasse, news agencies reported that although he and his family had successfully fled the presidential residence, their whereabouts remained unknown. Although Bangui's city centre remained calm on Tuesday, patrolled by government soldiers, a rebel offensive to capture the presidential palace and the nearby National Assembly building continued. Meanwhile, no fighting has been reported outside the capital. The government-owned Radio Centrafrique continued to be the only radio station broadcasting on Tuesday, with occasional local news updates provided via feeds from Radio France Internationale (RFI) and Africa No 1 Radio networks. Alluding to suspicions previously expressed by Patasse that Chad was supporting Bozize, CAR Minister of State for Communication Gabriel Jean Edouard Koyambounou told Africa No 1 Radio on Monday, "Now history will prove President Patasse right. There is a divide between the official declarations [of Chad] and its actions." Bozize and an unknown number of his supporters fled to neighbouring Chad in November 2001 after leading an armed resistance against Bozize's arrest for questioning in relation to the failed May 2001 putsch. As for Bozize, who has claimed responsibility for the military operation that began on Friday, Chadian and French sources confirmed on Tuesday that he was returning from the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, to Paris on Tuesday. "Gen Bozize went back to Paris with France's consent," Chadian Communication Minister Moctar Wawa Dahab was quoted as telling Agence France Presse (AFP). French Foreign Ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau, meanwhile, said that Bozize was "put back on the plane for Paris by the Chadian authorities with our consent", AFP reported. Reacting to the latest flare-up of clashes in CAR, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Monday for an immediate end to the violence, and urged support for an international force planned for the country, UN News reported. "The Secretary-General reiterates his condemnation of any attempt to take power by force of arms, and calls on the insurgents to lay down their weapons," a spokesman for Annan said. Annan called on the international community "to provide urgently the logistical and other assistance" needed to deploy to the CAR the inter-African observation force agreed to by the leaders of CEMAC (Communaute Economique et Monetaire de l'Afrique Centrale) at their summit earlier in October in Gabon, the spokesman said. Set to be comprise 300 to 350 troops, the force would be composed of forces from Gabon, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Mali. Its three main tasks would be to ensure Patasse's safety, participate in the restructuring of the country's armed forces, and ensure security on the border with Chad. Speaking on Africa No 1 Radio on Tuesday, Gabonese Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Ping said that the 2 October Libreville accord was still valid. He added that the first Gabonese peacekeeping contingent of 150 men was due to arrive within the week. However, he did not mention whether present fighting would affect these plans. Since the election of Patasse in 1993, the CAR has suffered repeated internal armed crises. 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 the Libreville summit. 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. Regional analysts now fear that this latest crisis could lead to a rapid deterioration in relations between Chad and CAR.