At a Southern Africa Liaison Office seminar, Bangui’s chief envoy to South Africa appeals for continued support from the international community.

Ambassador Andrè Nzapayeke says the people of the CAR will overcome their troubled past and build a peace.

But they cannot do this alone.

“We will need the help of the international community,” he says. “The road to the land of milk and honey is long and rough. So, please, all of you stand with us.”

He thanks those, including the United Nations, the South African Government and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their efforts in ending the suffering of his compatriots  who have become poor people in a country blessed with natural riches.

The post Central African Republic ambassador appeals for continued international help appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

The chief representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the diamond-rich dirt poor nation calls on all actors, including the  government, to live up to the expectations of the people.

ICRC delegation head Valerie Petitpierre tells a seminar in Pretoria the CAR poses the third worst humanitarian crisis on the planet behind Yemen and Syria.

“Two point nine million people depend on humanitarian assistance.One our of four people are displaced. Forty percent of the population is food insecure,” she says, adding that less than half the people have access to drinking water and more than three-quarters live in poverty.

There is hope after the February peace deal but government and other role players must see that the end of conflict also means an end to violence against civilians.

The post Red Cross calls for all actors, including government to meet expectations of war-weary Central African Republic people appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Less than a month after it was signed, one of the 14 parties has quit the government central to the deal and another militia has abandoned it.

The peace brokered in Khartoum and inked in Bangui on February 6 was the culmination of eight failed attempts following the 2013 overthrow of President Francois Bozize by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels.

It obliged President Faustin Archange Touadera to form an inclusive government.

Parties and militia excluded from his administration are urging him to look again at its composition.

They’re insisting on Touadera appointing a prime minister from among their ranks rather than pick a ruling party loyalist.

The post Fragile Central African Republic peace unravels appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

The fighting between Muslim ex-Seleka militia  and Christian anti-balaka rebels has taken on an religious tone that is relatively new to the country.

Once full villages in the north of the Central African Republic have been emptied and destroyed. The burned out houses are charred, with their thatched roofs totally gone. Inside the homes, evidence of a left-behind life is scattered throughout in the ashes: pots, pans, and bicycle frames. Other homes are looted with the doors kicked in and papers torn up.

The violence recalls the fighting and communal clashes that plunged the country into chaos nearly four years ago. Aid workers say the renewed violence has been a major setback.

The post Resurgence of violence in Central African Republic appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

However, renewing military ties which ended tragically for South Africa four years ago was not included in yesterday’s meeting between the Presidents of these two countries.

South African and Central African Republic officials have been meeting regularly since the countries signed a cooperation agreement 11 years ago.

In Pretoria yesterday,  Presidents Jacob Zuma and Faustin Archange Touadere agreed to deepen relations.

Through an interpreter, the visiting president explains

“We’ve agreed to consolidate relations and establish a joint commission,” he says

13 South African soldiers were killed by Seleka rebels in the CAR in 2013.

Touadere, thanks South Africa for its help at this most difficult for his country  and says a monument’s being   erected to the fallen.

However there’s no talk of renewing the military ties that had 400 South African soldiers deployed in his country.

The post South Africa and Central African Republic set up joint commission appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Two armed groups, both factions of the ex-Séléka rebels have clashed in Haute Kotto prefecture.

In addition to the scores killed and wounded, more than  11 000 people have been displaced.

Many of the victims are civilians who have been targeted based on their ethnicity.

UN  Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon underlines the willingness of the international community to support the country on its path towards recovery and stability.

He hopes that the extraordinary summit meeting of the Economic Community of Central African States, expected to be held in Libreville on 30 November, will reinforce  efforts to consolidate peace and place the country on a path of recovery and stability.

The post CAR clashes deeply concern UN boss appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

He says France will closely follow developments where the UN peacekeeping force is holding the line and will never abandon the former colony.

ends intro

Visiting Bangui yesterday French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian tells the CAR parliament some French troops will remain in Central African Republic as part of the 13 000 strong UN peacekeeping mission.

President Faustin Archange Touadera briefed him on

a new outbreak of violence  that left 25 people dead last week.

Central African Republic descended into conflict in 2013 when the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels who overthrew the Christian president committed atrocities.

A deadly backlash by the Christian anti-Balaka militia against Muslim civilians followed.

Pope Francis visited the CAR last year to appeal for calm.

The post France to withdraw peacekeeping force from Central African Republic appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Renewed deadly violence in the CAR has forced more than 20,000 people to flee to a UN base to seek safety and shelter.

ends intro

The withdrawal of the World Food Programme because of security concerns will impact about        120 000 people dependent on food supplies, and 35000 others living precariously in surrounding camps for internally displaced people.

The departure of humanitarian workers follows a string of incidents, including armed robberies last month.

At least 65 people have been killed over the past four weeks in violence across the western, eastern and central parts of the country

The post Humanitarian workers cease relief operations because of new violence in the CAR appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

It follows a detailed study in Guinea, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo  where, the organisation says, people living with HIV continue to suffer needlessly and die silently.

ends intro

Médecins Sans Frontières calls in today’s  report for UN agencies, European donor agencies, the Global Fund and PEPFAR, as well as affected governments and civil society, to develop and implement a fast-track plan to scale-up life-saving antiretroviral treatment for countries where this coverage reaches less than one-third of the population in need, particularly in West and Central Africa.

MSF’s report warns against the converging trend of international agencies to focus on high-burden countries and HIV hotspots in Sub-Saharan Africa saying this risks overlooking the importance of closing the treatment gap in regions with low antiretroviral coverage.

The needs in West and Central Africa remain enormous with three out of four people in need not accessing HIV care.

The post Don’t overlook West and Central Africa in fight against HIV appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

It involves troops from Burundi and Gabon who have been confined to to their camps while the probe is underway.

ends into

The events reported to the U.N. by a U.S.-based advocacy group, AIDS-Free World’s Code Blue Campaign, allegedly occurred  between 2013 and 2015.

UN troops , non UN personnel and local militia are said to be implicated.

Allegations have also made against the French Sangaris forces in the same area.

Visiting the capital Bangui French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says his country has achieved its objective of restoring security to the CAR and  will end its military intervention there this year.

The post New allegations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers in Central African Republic appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.