BANGUI, Central African Republic: An influential faction of the former Seleka rebel coalition in the Central African Republic said yesterday that it does not recognise a ceasefire agreement signed last week by major players in the country’s ongoing crisis.
“The military wing of Seleka does not recognise the agreement” signed in the Congolese capital on July 24, said a statement by Seleka military chief General Joseph Zoundeko.
Under international pressure, the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels and Christian “anti-balaka” vigilante forces agreed to a tentative ceasefire at talks in Brazzaville, in what was hailed as a first step to end the bloodshed in one of Africa’s poorest countries.
“Nobody was mandated to put a signature at the bottom of the agreement on behalf of the Seleka,” Zoundeko said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. “However, we remain open to dialogue,” the statement added.
Appointed as military chief of the Seleka last May, Zoundeko and the few hundred fighters he controls are based in and around the central town of Bambari -- the scene of intercommunal clashes that have killed more than a hundred. Zoundeko has called for the partition of the Central African Republic, claiming “the behaviour of Christians has made it impossible to have peace” in the country.
AFP
