PH
A rebel coalition that has been fighting the government in Central African Republic announced it will end a three-day ceasefire ahead of elections on December 27.
A statement by the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) on Friday said the group had “decided to break the 72-hour truce it had imposed on itself and resume its unrelenting march towards its final objective.”
The parties to the ceasefire had “invited the authorities to observe the ceasefire over the same period” and appealed to President Faustin Archange Touadera to suspend the upcoming presidential and legislative elections.
According to the rebel coalition, the government had “cavalierly rejected” this “chance for peace” accusing it of instigating “several attacks” on positions occupied by its members.
However, the government spokesman Ange-Maxime Kazagui dismissed the ceasefire announced on Thursday terming it “a non-event”.
Vladimir Monteiro, a spokesman for the UN mission in the country (MINUSCA), said fighting had resumed in Bakouma, about 250 kilometres (155 miles) east of the capital Bangui.
The United Nations appealed to all parties to cease hostilities and work towards ensuring conditions for credible, inclusive, and peaceful elections.
The Central African Republic has been unstable since gaining independence from France in 1960 and was plunged into further turmoil in 2013 when Muslim rebels from the Seleka umbrella group seized power in the majority-Christian country.
Violence has persisted in the country despite a peace deal being reached between the government and 14 rebel groups in early 2019 following weeks of talks in Sudan.
