A joint visit by the AU, the UN, represented by the Deputy Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix, ECCAS and the EU is currently under way. On Wednesday, representatives met with both the president of the National Assembly and religious leaders. At the heart of the discussions: the peace process, two years after the Khartoum Treaty and five months after the attack on the capital by the CPC’s rebel coalition.
as reported from Bangui, Carol Valade
Upon arrival, the delegation from the airport speaks with the voice of the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye. “The election process is now over, it’s time for inclusive dialogue.”
“All parties, including President Touadéra and the ruling party, must get involved. Above all, the implementation of the political agreement is crucial, knowing that it is only through dialogue and not through the military alternative that we can achieve lasting peace. ”
The mission takes place in a tense context, the Central African Armed Forces and their Russian allies continue military operations to reconquer the northern part of the country, shortly after the border incident with Chad that left several dead. And while protests hostile to the UN mission, Minusca, are organized in the capital.
“I repeat, I repeat and I emphasize again: Minusca is a mechanism for protecting civilians and is therefore in no way an enemy of the Central African Republic.”
Following the offensive carried out by the CPC rebels in December last year, the UN Security Council approved the deployment of 3,700 additional peacekeepers to the country.
The delegation will also meet with President Faustin Archange Touadéra, the various political actors and civil society during this visit, which ends on Saturday.
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