Government to train 220 men after arms surrender

The government of the Central African Republic (CAR), with the support of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), will begin on 30 July vocational training for 220 men who surrendered firearms between 15 June 2002 and 15 March 2003. The head of the government's programme on disarmament, the Programme National de Desarmement et de Reinsertion, Harouna Dan Malam, told IRIN on Monday that 35 million francs CFA (US $62,756) had been set aside to train the men in skills such as carpentry, mechanics and sewing. The training will last between four and five months, he said. He said the 220 men had been selected from 1,500 civilians who surrendered firearms in compliance with a disarmament drive which the government launched. "After the training, each person will receive tools and equipment worth $500 to start a new career," he said. To recover illegally held arms, the disarmament programme set up local committees in each neighbourhood of Bangui, the capital, to educate the residents and offer money to those who voluntarily surrendered guns or ammunition. Harouna said the programme offered 8,000 francs ($14) for a small firearm, 700 francs ($1.2) for a grenade and 25 francs ($0.04) for one bullet. A total of 209 small arms; three machine guns; 134,000 bullets; 1,361 grenades; 27 mortar shells; 54 rockets and an anti-personal mine were recovered during the drive between 15 June 2002 and 15 March 2003, Harouna said. These guns and ammunition are to be burnt publicly on Friday. A similar operation took place on 15 June 2002, when 714 small arms were burnt. Harouna said that after the 15 March coup, the disarmament programme was not involved in an arms collection effort by troops of the regional peace force of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC) in the country. The CEMAC troops, who are currently carrying out an operation to secure the north, have so far recovered about 2,000 arms across the country. In a memorandum to a visiting UN mission on 21 June, the government said 20,000 arms were yet to be recovered and requested funds for the exercise. Since the mid-1990s, the CAR has undergone several crises, including the 1996-7 mutinies, an attempted coup on May 2001 and the rebellion led by Francois Bozize between October 2002 and March 2003, which ended with him ousting President Ange-Felix Patasse. During these crises, weapons were reported to have gone missing from military barracks. Harouna also said many gun could have been brought into the country from abroad.