Coup thwarted, civilians begin returning to Bangui

With Central African Republic (CAR) government forces of President Ange-Felix Patasse back in “full control of the situation” in the capital, as confirmed by the French embassy in Bangui on Thursday, an increasing stream of residents who fled a failed coup attempt were returning to the city. NGO sources in Bangui told IRIN that an estimated minimum of 50,000 displaced people are in urgent need of food and medical attention, while the BBC reported that staple foods such as rice and cassava have gone up three times in price as food shortages worsen in the city. Meanwhile, the Department of Health began counting and clearing up bodies scattered in the streets, some burned with petrol by residents trying to stop the odour of decomposition and to prevent the spread of disease, according to Reuters. Unofficial death toll estimates of the 11-day ordeal range between 250 to 300 lives lost. Events began in the early hours of 28 May, when a mutinous unit of the army loyal to former president Andre Kolingba launched an attack on the Bangui residence of Patasse. With the support of forces from Libya and the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), a rebel movement from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the mutineers were driven out of the capital in to the bush. Mutinous soldiers disputed such claims, saying that they had withdrawn from the city for strictly strategic purposes and were simply awaiting orders from Kolingba to launch a counter-offensive. The whereabouts of the mutineers, who were supported by some 300 mercenaries from Rwanda and Angola, and Kolingba remain unknown. A bounty of 25 million CFA (US $38,000) has been offered by the government for Kolingba, dead or alive. MLC leader Jean-Pierre Bemba on Thursday ordered his forces to leave Bangui, saying their mission to restore peace, security, and stability to Bangui is over. Asked by Radio France Internationale (RFI) on Thursday to explain the MLC presence in Bangui, Bemba said “Bangui is on the other side of the [Oubangui] river bank , opposite Zongo, near the border. You will understand, therefore, that if insecurity prevails in Bangui, it may spill over across the river and the border in to Zongo.” Asked by RFI to respond to widespread accusations that his troops attacked and looted Bangui residents, Bemba stated that “if there have been cases of abuse, we do have a disciplinary council within our army. The army also has a code of conduct. The culprits will therefore appear before our disciplinary council and the code of conduct will be strictly applied.” General Amoudou Toumani Toure, the former president of Mali, will arrive in Bangui this weekend for urgent talks with Patasse and others in an effort to restore calm to the troubled country, a UN spokesman announced on Thursday. Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Toure to be his special envoy to the CAR.