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Central African Republic President, Faustin Archange Touadéra
UNITED NATIONS/BANGUI, Feb 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the arrest of four members of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and called for their immediate release.
The UN peacekeepers from France were arrested by the Central African Republic (CAR) gendarmerie in Bangui on Monday, while escorting General Stéphane Marchenoir, Chief of Staff of Minusca.
The secretary-general emphasized that, pursuant to the 2014 status-of-forces agreement between the United Nations and the government of the CAR relating to MINUSCA, these MINUSCA members enjoy privileges and immunities which are held in the interest of the United Nations.
The top UN official recalled that the 2014 status-of-forces agreement establishes a specific procedure in cases where members of MINUSCA are suspected, by the authorities of the CAR, of having committed an offence. The secretary-general noted that this procedure has not been followed in the present case.
Guterres called upon the government of the CAR to abide by all its obligations under international law, including the status-of-forces agreement, and release these MINUSCA personnel “unconditionally and without delay.”
The four French soldiers were arrested amid social media claims of an “assassination attempt” on the Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadéra.
The French Embassy said the soldiers were intercepted at Bangui Airport on Monday by the Central African Gendarmerie— a military component charged with maintaining internal security throughout all rural districts.
The arrests come amid a souring of ties between France and its former colony, with the fallout being fuelled by a fierce battle for influence between Paris and Moscow.
France claims CAR has been aiding an anti-French campaign orchestrated by Moscow on social and mainstream media outlets, and accuses the Russian private security company Wagner of human rights violations and looting Bangui’s natural resources.
Monday allegations of an assassination attempt on President Touadéra were rejected by both France and the UN mission.
Minusca said it “deeply regrets this incident,” referring to the arrests.
“[Minusca] condemns its immediate instrumentalisation on certain malicious networks and the gross disinformation to which it gives rise,” wrote the French diplomatic representation in Bangui.
The Central African Republic has a 15,000-strong peacekeeping force and the local army has been under an arms embargo for nearly 10 years. — NNN-AGENCIES
