Thousands of civilians caught between retreating and advancing forces

Humanitarian organisations in the Central African Republic on Friday expressed concern for the safety of thousands of civilians caught between retreating rebel forces of former CAR army chief of staff, Gen Francois Bozize, and Congolese rebels pursuing them in the direction of the northern border with Chad. Although relative calm had returned to the capital, Bangui, by Friday, the situation near the town of Damara, located some 80 km north of Bangui, was called "very worrying" by one aid worker, as no humanitarian access was available to thousands of civilians fleeing a possible military confrontation between Bozize loyalists and forces of the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), a rebel group from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that came to the aid of besieged CAR President Ange-Felix Patasse. CAR military forces, however, were not reported to be part of the pursuit because of concerns that they would not want to fight or perhaps even defect to the side of Bozize, who remains a very popular figure among many Central Africans, local sources told IRIN. Many soldiers of the CAR army have not been paid for the past 18 months. Central Africans displaced from northern neighbourhoods of Bangui told IRIN that while they had no fear of Bozize's forces, who were widely reported to have behaved in a civil manner toward residents during their six-day siege of the capital, they were afraid of the Congolese forces, who were reported to have pillaged "everything in sight" and raped many women. In response, government forces set up checkpoints around northern neighbourhoods of Bangui to stop Congolese fighters from fleeing with looted goods. "We invited them in, but we won't let them leave with stolen goods," one CAR soldier told IRIN. "Government troops should do their best to take back the stolen goods and return them to their owners," one displaced elderly woman told IRIN. Even though a general coordination meeting among relief organisations had been held on Friday under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the human toll of the failed coup attempt still remained difficult to ascertain, with many of the wounded afraid to seek medical assistance for fear of being accused to be rebels, one humanitarian worker told IRIN. Residents of the Gobongo neighbourhood of Bangui told IRIN that at around noon local time on Friday they witnessed a CAR soldier gun down a man in the street suspected of belonging to Bozize's forces. Raquel Ayora, country director for the international humanitarian relief organisation, Medicos Sin Fronteras (MSF-Spain), told IRIN that its main priority at present was canvassing neighbourhoods in an effort to identify those afraid to seek medical assistance. She said they were also calling for an end to looting by foreign troops, and for access to displaced people along the northern road to Damara and the southwestern road to Mbaiki. Ayora noted that in contrast to Damara, the situation in Mbaiki was not presently a major source of concern because most displaced people had found food and shelter with family and friends there, and it was far from the current field of battle. She added that in addition to supplies already on hand, MSF had ordered a wide variety of medicines and medical equipment that had already reached Yaounde, in neighbouring Cameroon, and was due to arrive in Bangui next week in order to provide medical assistance to civilians. Although life in the capital was said to be returning to normal - electricity and telephone service had been largely restored, and two-thirds of vendors had returned to hawk their goods at the city's largest market, located in the Kilometre Five section of Bangui - the threat of a resumption of hostilities remained. Speaking to Radio France Internationale on Friday, a man claiming to be a Bozize spokesman said "we are at the gates of Bangui and we will return". "We control many sites up-country," he added. Bozize's forces withdrew along the same road by which they had approached Bangui on 25 October, leading northwards to Chad. According to military sources, they had maintained control of that route throughout their six-day assault on Bangui. Meanwhile, a pair of fighter jets on loan from Libya, which has had a contingent of some 200 soldiers in Bangui since a previous coup attempt in May 2001, continued their flight patterns at a low altitude over the city. On Thursday, Africa No 1 Radio reported that 100 Gabonese troops were being trained at a French military base in Libreville, and were expected to arrive in Bangui within a week. It added that France would be providing logistical and materiel support. As for the whereabouts and well-being of Patasse, who had not yet appeared in public or spoken on the radio, government officials assured reporters that he and his family were safe at home. The fate of Patasse's spokesman, Prosper Ndouba, however, remained unclear, as he had not yet been released by Bozize's rebels, who abducted him from his vehicle at the beginning of the coup last Friday. 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 latest attempted coup, Chadian and French sources confirmed on Tuesday that he had returned from the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, to Paris. 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.