Civilians fleeing Bangui

The government of the Central African Republic on Wednesday said it was back in control of most of the capital Bangui after an attempted coup on Monday, although sources in the city told IRIN it appeared the fighting was “far from over” and civilians were fleeing their homes. “The neighbourhoods of the southwest of Bangui appear to still be in rebel hands, and we are anticipating a decisive battle in this area,” an NGO source told IRIN. “It seems the mutineers are organised into small groups dressed as civilians, launching sporadic attacks and then fleeing.” He said two Ilyushin aircraft landed in Bangui on Wednesday morning, believed to be carrying government reinforcement troops. Civilians able to leave their homes are evacuating Bangui in large numbers, moving towards the west and north, although exact figures are unknown. The CAR government has accused former head of state General Andre Kolingba of being behind the attempted coup. “The attack overnight Sunday-Monday on President [Ange-Felix] Patasse’s residence by a heavily-armed group of assailants was a coup d’etat prepared and organised by General Andre Kolingba,” presidential spokesman Prosper Ndouba said, according to news organisations. Ndouba further charged that the coup was also “backed by Rwandan generals ... and more than 300 nationals of certain African countries who were recruited as mercenaries”. In an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI) on Wednesday morning, Kolingba confirmed his involvement, but claimed it was not a coup. “The mutineers have asked me as a former head of state and officer, to intervene,” he said. “I am calling on France to support me in order to restore national cohesion, peace and security in the country. It is not a coup.” Kolingba, founder and leader of the opposition Democratic Central African Rally (RDC), was head of state from 1981 to 1993, before being defeated by Patasse in the country’s first multi-party elections. His party has 20 of the 48 opposition MP seats, out of a total 109 National Assembly members. Meanwhile, loyalist troops and presidential guards continued to pursue rebels, who had fallen back toward several southern districts, including the area around the state radio transmitter at Bimbo, just south of Bangui, AFP quoted Ndouba as saying. Although national radio, Radio Centrafricaine, was still not broadcasting, another station, Leke Luka, left by MINURCA, the former UN peacekeeping mission in CAR, restarted broadcasting around 10 am local time on Wednesday, the NGO source told IRIN. Schools, shops, and markets remained closed. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday urged the people, especially political and other leaders, to respect the democratic institutions of the country and to favour dialogue. Earlier this year, the Secretary-General warned in a report to the Security Council that CAR was gripped by political crisis, mired in social tension and underpinned by a fragile economy. The 11 January report blamed the crisis in part on the opposition’s attempt “by every possible means to seize the power that it was unable to win through the ballot box”. The former colonial power France and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) also condemned the coup attempt. Several news organisations reported that the number of confirmed deaths had reached 20, including seven members of the presidential guard protecting Patasse, several rebels and civilians. General Francois Ndjadder, head of the paramilitary gendarmerie, died from wounds received in fighting on Monday. A curfew remained in effect from 6 pm to 6 am local time, with few people seen on the streets during the day. CAR, a former French colony of 3.5 million people, is one of Africa’s poorest countries. Last year, the UN ended a peacekeeping mission it sent in 1999 to replace the French-backed African force which restored order after several mutinies in the 1990s. Civil servants have been on sporadic strike for months in protest at the government’s failure to pay up to two years of salary arrears. Most wages remain unpaid despite a government promise in March to start paying them and the appointment in April of new Prime Minister Martin Ziguele, who said official salaries would be his priority.