Carnage continues as Muslim Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka militias clash months after presidential polls brought hope for reconciliation, writes Azad Essa.
OVER the past month, more than 60 people have been killed in fighting between rival militias in the Central African Republic. The UN says violence has broken out in the western, central and eastern parts of the country in a tempestuous sign that instability still reigns supreme months after a presidential election brought hope for reconciliation and a change of fortunes for the people here.
The events of the past four weeks have been brutal.
First, 40 people were killed when the northern town of Kaga Bandero was attacked. Homes and sites for the internally displaced were ravaged in attacks blamed on ex-Seleka rebels that the UN calls “politically motivated”.
A nearby school was also attacked, and three teachers lost their lives.
Then, last week 25 others were murdered in an attack on the central town of Bambari.
While the UN says it continues to deploy its peacekeepers to the affected areas, it is clear that 12 000 peacekeepers will not be able to control an orchestrated attempt by dejected groups to derail the government.
Part of the problem is that the eastern parts of the country remain in the hands of armed groups where a tit-for-tat conflict continues.
The absence of the government in the hinterlands means that armed groups control just about everything - collecting taxes, organising trade and even movement in remote areas outside the capital.
It has also put strain on aid agencies, with many abandoning their work after their staff suffered attacks or their convoys were robbed at gunpoint.
In a country where so many are reliant on assistance due to a breakdown or absence of social services, the consequences are potentially devastating. For instance, the World Food Programme has struggled to operate in Kago Bandero, where some 120 000 people are food insecure.
The violence has pushed people out of their homes again, a recurring theme for many thousands.
Some, already living in flimsy internally displaced person (IDP) camps, were forced to escape to the UN base for shelter.
At the outbreak of violence early last month, some 5 000 people made their way to the base.
By the end of October, the number of displaced had reached 20 000.
Of course, nearly 3 000 people have died, more than half a million others have fled to neighbouring countries and another 400 000 remain internally displaced since 2013.
Indeed, the current impasse is only one part of a larger story of endemic insecurity and an ongoing struggle for power that began when Muslim-led Seleka rebels took the capital Bangui in March, 2013.
Thirteen South African soldiers died defending the sitting president Francois Bozize at the time.
No one has been held to account for the decision to keep South African troops there, or the fact that none of the troops belonging to the regional African peacekeeping team tried to prevent the coup from taking place.
They, like the French forces, stationed at the Bangui Mpoko airport at the time, just looked the other way.
Following the coup, the Seleka rebels committed a string of atrocities on civilians prompting regional leaders to force the new leader Michel Djotodia to step down and a transitional government was put in place.
But by then Christian and animist vigilante fighters under an umbrella group called the anti-Balaka (anti-Machete) had formed to tackle the Seleka rebels, and a new crisis erupted.
The anti-Balaka embarked on a wave of devastating reprisal attacks on the Muslim community, igniting a sectarian conflict that Amnesty International described as “ethnic cleansing”.
French troops entered, on a UN mandate, to help stabilise the situation and up to 12 000 UN peacekeepers from all parts of the globe were deployed to restore peace and set up the conditions for a new government.
But given the history of French exploitation in CAR and the repeated allegations of misconduct by the UN, this was never going to be easy.
As a deeply divided nation, governance here has always been a matter of contention.
Until there is an attempt to address the structural inequalities and power imbalances prevalent here, primarily by ensuring that the various marginalised groups feel included in decision-making, this will remain a country almost always teetering on political disaster.
In February, Faustin Touadera was elected, and talks with rebel groups and disarmament of fighters began. But the CAR’s institutions are barren, its infrastructure non-existent. More than 80% of the country lives on less than $2 (R27)a day.
And it’s not hard to understand why. Pierre Kalck described CAR as “the most neglected of France’s colonies”.No surprise then, that the system of governance set up after independence was arguably not designed to govern.
“It was geared primarily to serve international interests and local elites seeking to exploit CAR’s diamonds, gold, oil and uranium,” Rachel Sullivan, from the US Institute of Peace, writes.
The CAR remains a playground for neighbouring Chad, Ugandan, French, Chinese and US interests, even South Africa's. This week, the remaining 350 French troops are to leave the country. It is still not clear how the withdrawal of the troops will impact on peace efforts in the country, given that they leave behind a murky trail of disgraceful accusations, including sexual violence against minors. But like the rest of the crimes to have taken place in CAR, no one is likely to be held to account.
* Essa is a journalist at Al Jazeera. He is also the co-founder of The Daily Vox.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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