Regional
CAR: Rwanda deploys 750 more troops to secure country's main supply route
The Rwandan government on Tuesday, August 3, started
deploying an additional infantry battalion of 750 military personnel to the
United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Central
African Republic (MINUSCA). The advance party of the new Rwandan contingent of
300 peacekeepers were airlifted from Kigali International Airport to Bangui on
Tuesday.
The main task of the new Rwandan battalion is to secure the
main supply route connecting Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic
(CAR), to Cameroon. Rwanda's troops
under MINUSCA were critical in neutralising attacks by a coalition of rebels
who joined forces last December and tried to, among others, blockade Bangui in
a bid to topple President Faustin Archange Touadera's government.
By and large, the rebel coalition has been defeated but it
managed to retain a grip on some remote spots on the key highway to Bangui,
preventing trucks from delivering essential supplies. The road from Bangui to
the border with Cameroon - the city's lifeline - is essential for nearly all of
CAR's imports. Cutting off this key highway earlier this year left hundreds of
trucks stranded on the border. The blockade of Bangui is a rebel tactic to
strangle the capital economically and force the government to the negotiating
table.
Prices of food and other essential commodities often rise
steeply whenever the landlocked country’s main supply route from Cameroon is
cut off by armed groups. Upon arrival at Bangui Airport, the Rwandan
peacekeepers were welcomed by the MINUSCA Force Commander, Lt Gen Sadiki Traoré
accompanied by the Chief of General Staff of Central African Republic Armed
Forces, Maj Gen Zephlin Mamadou.
MINUSCA Force Commander expressed his gratitude to the
Rwandan peacekeepers for their unwavering commitment to protecting civilians
and maintaining peace and security in CAR.
The troops are deployed following a request by the United Nations to
reinforce its peacekeeping mission in the country.
The rebels in the country are grouped under what is now
called the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) and led by the country's
former President, François Bozizé, who was in 2014 placed on a UN sanctions
list for committing or supporting acts that undermined the country's peace and
stability. The sanctions were in
reference to his support for criminal Christian militias - the anti-Balaka
groups - back in 2013.
As the country geared to the December 27, 2020, presidential
and parliamentary elections, Bozize and his coalition - comprising foreign
mercenaries - plotted attacks to derail the democratic process. But the mainly
Rwandan peacekeepers minding the city would not allow that to happen and the
election was a success as people, assured of their security, turned up in big
numbers and cast their vote. In his address to the UN Security Council, on
January 20, Mankeur Ndiaye, the UN envoy to CAR, said the country was at
serious risk of a security and peacebuilding setback. He explained that the
troops deployed act on an extremely vast territory. "In addition, the
Force has only reaction forces limited in manpower, unable to act on the whole
territory because of the size of the country."
With the latest deployment, Rwanda will have three battalions
plus a Level II Hospital deployed under MINUSCA. Rwandan soldiers serving under
MINUSCA are the ones minding the security of senior government officials
including President Touadéra. They also protect key state installations and
senior UN officials there and are also charged with the huge task of securing
Bangui, a job they have done very well. They have foiled as well as repulsed
several rebel attacks in the past.