Incidents at the border between Chad and Central Africa could turn into a diplomatic crisis. The Chadian Foreign Minister issued a statement on Sunday, May 30 to Monday, May 31, 2021, accusing the Central African Armed Forces of attacking an outpost of the army in a “predetermined and planned” manner. .
Ndjamena talks about a soldier killed and five others kidnapped who were then, according to the terms of the press release, coldly executed in Central African territory. In Bangui, the Central African Presidency has just reacted, it wants to calm things down and talks about an “unfortunate incident”.
It all started with clashes between Faca and their Russian “allies” on Sunday morning against the 3R rebels, near the border between the two countries. The Central African rebels then withdrew to Chadian territory. The Central African Armed Forces and the Russian paramilitaries then marched after them.
Chadian soldiers from the outpost to Sourou would have intervened, Chadian security sources explain. Faca and their Russian allies, more numerous and better armed, are defeated, one Chadian soldier killed and five others captured, according to an official report. A Central African deputy talks about a Russian killed paramilitary and another injured in their camp. These events are a first, because so far it has been the Central African Republic that has accused its powerful neighbor of invading its territory.
“Extremely serious war crime”
The Chadian reaction therefore did not last long. Chadian diplomat Chérif Mahamat Zene accuses the Central African army of coldly executing the five prisoners. He speaks of “a war crime of extreme gravity” and of a “predetermined and planned assassination attempt” (…) which “can not go unpunished”.
On the Central African side, we are now trying to calm things down. Presidency spokesman Albert Yaloké Mokpemé had previously lamented the “unfortunate incident”, the government spokesman has just reacted. Ane Maxime talks about an exchange of fire on the border between the two countries, which “unfortunately caused deaths on the Central African and Chadian side”. He assures us that his country is ready to cooperate “with Chad for the security of the common borders”. But no word on the other hand about the five soldiers who would have been executed coldly.
Is this the beginning of a punitive expedition? Chadian army units have been entering Central African territory since this morning, occupying the city of Ngaondai, according to Chadian sources, which a Central African administrative official on the spot denies.
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