UN envoy appeals for calm and humanitarian aid

The UN special envoy to the Central African Republic (CAR) has met President Ange-Felix Patasse in Bangui at the beginning of a mission to try to defuse tensions and restore peace in the capital after a failed coup attempt last month. During his meeting with Patasse, General Amadou Toumani Toure, reiterated UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s call for peace and dialogue in the country and stressed the need for aid workers to reach those who needed assistance. An estimated 80,000 people are said to have been displaced by intense fighting between troops loyal to former president Andre Kolingba, who led the 28 May coup, and the government forces. While a large number of the displaced have been steadily returning to the city, humanitarian agencies have warned of food shortages and health emergencies. UNICEF, which has been designated as the lead UN agency in dealing with the humanitarian crisis, on Wednesday received two planeloads of supplies in Bangui. The 36 tonnes of high-protein biscuits, water purification tablets, oral rehydration kits, blankets and tents were taken from UN warehouses in Brazzaville (Republic of Congo) and Kinshasa (DRC), according to a UN spokesman. No official death toll was yet available on Thursday, with estimates ranging anywhere from 60 to several hundred lives lost. On the political front, Toure said that for national accord to prevail, no one should be excluded from discussions, including the rebels. Toure’s desire to meet with all sides of the conflict was endorsed by Patasse, according to Gabonese radio, although some hardliners within the army were said to be opposed to the government’s “conciliatory approach”. Toure, a former president of Mali, played a key role in resolving CAR military uprisings also led by Kolingba in 1996 and 1997. On Thursday, the whereabouts of Kolingba and mutineers who managed to flee Bangui remained unknown, although the government has issued a bounty of US $33,000 for Kolingba, dead or alive. IRIN continued to receive reports of attacks on Yakoma civilians, Kolingba’s ethnic group. Amid allegations of a smouldering ethnic conflict, Prime Minister Martin Ziguela insisted on Wednesday that a tribal war was not underway. “The CAR is facing a major crisis because of an attempt to take power by force. I would like to restate that this is not a tribal war but a coup d’etat by Kolingba,” AFP quoted Ziguela as saying. In another development, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophone Movement (APF) is demanding an inquiry into the assassination of Theophile Touba, a CAR deputy and member of the APF’s Education, Communication, and Culture Commission. According to Radio France Internationale (RFI), Touba was found dead near Patasse’s residence. He is believed to have been abducted by government soldiers who suspected him of involvement in the failed coup. According to his aides, his bullet-riddled body carried marks of torture, RFI reported.