- Title: Death toll in Central African town could rise to 100 - Mayor
- Date: 21st June 2017
- Summary: BRIA, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (RECENT - MAY 31, 2017) (REUTERS) MAKESHIFT SHELTERS/CLOTHES ON ROOF OF MAKESHIFT SHELTER WOMEN AND CHILDREN CARRYING THEIR BELONGINGS ON THEIR HEADS MAN CARRYING A BED FRAME BRIA, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RUINS OF BURNT HOUSES MINUSCA SOLDIER ON PATROL IN BRIA U.N. TRUCK, PEOPLE PASSING BY
- Embargoed: 5th July 2017 15:50
- Keywords: Conflict Minusca Bria ceasefire signing Sant' Edigio anti-Balaka muslim fighters
- Location: BANGUI AND BRIA, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC/ SANT' EGIDIO, ITALY
- City: BANGUI AND BRIA, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC/ SANT' EGIDIO, ITALY
- Country: Central African Republic
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA0016M816QF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: As many as 100 people may have been killed in a day of clashes between rival factions in the Central African Republic town of Bria, the mayor said on Wednesday (June 21).
The latest figures come after authorities said that at least 35 people were injured on Tuesday (June 20) in fighting, a day after a peace deal was signed to end years of bloodshed.
Fighting between former Seleka members and anti-balaka fighters erupted early in the morning in the town of Bria, around 580 km (360 miles) northeast of the capital Bangui.
The attack happened as thirteen of the country's 14 armed groups along with representatives from the government signed a cease fire accord on Monday (June 19) in Rome. The deal, brokered by the Roman Catholic Sant' Egidio peace group, called for an immediate ceasefire.
Many had hoped that the latest ceasefire could bring an end to the fighting.
"What needs to be said is that not only the armed rebel groups went to Sant' Egidio by choice, they were not forced to, so I think that we should give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they have a new will to seek peace. I really believe that not only the people of Central Africa are tired but I also think that the armed groups have realized that violence will not help them achieve their objectives," said Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, the United Nations Mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA) Chief.
Thousands have died and a fifth of Central Africans have fled their homes in the conflict that broke out after mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias.
The Seleka and other groups have since splintered, prompting further violence even as the country held a democratic election won by President Faustin-Archange Touadera who was sworn in in March 2016.
The office of President Touadera, who was elected last year, applauded on Tuesday what it said was "an historic accord". However, others in the capital Bangui were less optimistic.
"It's not the first time that ceasefire agreements have been signed, there has been ceasefire agreement after ceasefire agreement. It's as if the country was going to win a trophy for it, there has been many peace accords. But what we say is that if our brothers manage to sign a peace accord, then they should respect the agreements that they sign," said a Bangui resident, Idriss Gerard Ernest.
"What's disappointing is that when you sign a ceasefire agreement, then there are new attacks on the ground, and today the government should have deployed the army to prevent these attacks, yet there was a ceasefire signing and yet the Central African army was not there, so I don't understand why we are talking about cease fire. However, if the ceasefire agreement means a return to peace in Central Africa, then the armed groups need to know that there's no need to continue the conflict," added another Bangui resident, Desire Yodemona.
Monday's peace deal is only the latest in a series of agreements aimed at putting an end to the conflict in Central African Republic, which has in recent months witnessed some of the worst bloodshed in years.
"Previously, they realized that right after the various peace agreements, there were renewed attacks on the ground. So the question that everyone is asking is that, the armed group that are taking part in the latest signing, are they doing it out of good faith or it's just a formality to make people forget what's happening? Or are they doing it to help the country find peace? We don't know. But what we can appreciate with the accord that was signed in Rome, is that the majority, 13 out 14 armed groups decided to come on board and signed the accord that they want to end the fighting on the ground," said political analyst, Salement Kobo.
About 440,000 people were displaced throughout the country by the end of April and that number could reach 500,000 by the end of June. That would represent the most displaced since the height of the crisis in 2013, the United Nations humanitarian office said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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