Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangui (Agenzia Fides) - More than 20,000 residents in Bambari forced to flee, took refuge in the forest because of the fighting between two rival factions of former Seleka rebellion. This is what the authorities of the Central African Republic and MINUSCA (UN Mission in Central Africa) report. Bambari (in the center of the Country) and its surroundings are theater of the clash between the Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de Centrafrique (FPRC) and the Unité du Peuple Centrafricain (UPC). In a bombing carried out by a helicopter of MINUSCA, one of the FPRC leaders, "General" Joseph Zoundéko was killed on February 11.
UPC and FPRC are just two of the armed factions born from the disintegration of Seleka. These groups can form an alliance or fight each other depending on the circumstances, for the control of economic activities, from the exploitation of mines (such as gold in Bambari area), to extortion along the main thoroughfares, to cattle rustling and smuggling. On the other hand the so-called antibalaka, self-defense groups created to fight Seleka rebels, also enter in this game of alliances and rivalries for essentially economic and criminal reasons. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 17/02/2017)
