Gov't accuses ex-president of fomenting rebellion

Former President Ange-Felix Patasse is recruiting foreign mercenaries to destabilise the Central African Republic (CAR) and has established a training camp for them on the country's border with Sudan, the office of the president has said. In a statement issued on Saturday, the presidency said Patasse and the former ruling party, Mouvement de liberation du people Centrafricain (MLPC), were planning to destabilise the country. The current president, Francois Bozize, ousted Patasse in March 2003 after leading a six-month rebellion. The presidency said Bozize had met his Sudanese counterpart to discuss the issue of the mercenary training camp for Patasse's fighters. It said Patasse was banking of the support of some MLPC members in the country to carry out his planned takeover. The communiqué called on CAR citizens to remain calm and leave the issue to the judiciary for action. Saturday's statement marked the first time the government has confirmed the existence of a rebellion in the country. Previously, it said instability in the northwest was due to banditry. Earlier last week, Prime Minister Elie Doté said on local radio: "There is an insurrection in the northern part of the country carried out by people opposed to the ruling regime." So far, three main rebel movements have been reported to be active in the country: the Union of Republican Forces, the People's Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy, and the Patriotic Movement for the Rebirth of the CAR People, which has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks on military positions in the northwestern part of the country. In a statement last week, the Patriotic Movement for the Rebirth of the CAR People said it planned to attack military bases in the country. It claimed the attack in the northwestern town of Paoua that left 27 people dead in late January and the killing of the mayor of the town of Bossangoa a week ago.