Samba-Panza will reshuffle CAR government

Catherine Samba-Panza. File picture: Siegfried Modola

Catherine Samba-Panza. File picture: Siegfried Modola

Published May 10, 2014

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Bangui - Central African Republic President Catherine Samba Panza said on Saturday she will “reshuffle” her government amid continuing sectarian violence, more than three months after she came to power.

In an interview with AFP, Samba Panza said ministers in her government must “make an assessment of their actions”.

“Those who have stayed the course will remain. Those who have not, I will have to reshuffle,” Samba Panza said.

However, she did not give a timescale for when she might make any changes to her ministerial team.

Samba Panza, the country's interim president, came to power in late January 2014 after the ex-rebel leader whose March 2013 coup plunged the country into chaos was forced to step down.

After taking power, some of the rebels from the mainly Muslim rebel coalition Seleka went rogue, embarking on a campaign of killing, raping and looting.

The abuses prompted members of the Christian majority to form vigilante groups, unleashing a wave of brutal tit-for-tat killings that has left thousands dead, close to a million displaced.

The cycle of ethnic and religious violence has raised international concern the country was on the brink of genocide.

Speaking about her country's dire security situation, she said that the level of violence “was untenable” when she took over as leader.

“Real efforts were made at government level and also by the international forces to bring the level of insecurity down to somewhere which was acceptable,” she said.

While security has improved in the capital Bangui, there remain deep concerns about the situation in the interior of the country.

International Criminal Court investigators are currently in the country beginning an investigation into the relentless violence that has plagued the Central African Republic since 2012. - Sapa-AFP

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