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| June 22, 2008 |
CAR rebels sign peace agreement with President Bozize
Yesterday a peace agreement was reached between CAR President Francois Bozize's government and three (of the four) rebel factions. It was signed by the leaders of two rebel groups: the Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy (APRD), which operates in the northwest, bordering Cameroon and Chad, and the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR), which had been active in the northeast, near the frontier with Sudan. The signature of the leader of a third rebel group, the Democratic Front for the Central African People (FDPC) is expected to follow.The hope in CAR is that the deal will shield the country from the spillover of the violence in Darfur and eastern Chad.
But the rebel groups represent a fraction of the violent armed militias moving through one of the world's poorest countries. Northern CAR is infested by marauders from Sudan, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. Villages have also been attacked, robbed and burned by the brutal Presidential Guards, the CAR army, the Chadian army and most recently the Lords Resistance Army from Northern Uganda. The rape and kidnapping of women and children is common. The nation's wealth in gold, diamonds and uranium is plundered by other countries.
300,000 civilians are currently displaced and many are living in terror deep in the bush behind the remains of their villages, without food, safe water, or medical care.
The amnesty offered to the rebel fighters under the peace deal did not, however, give immunity from prosecution for war crimes or crimes against humanity which may by initiated by the International Criminal Court.