CAR Army In Retreat As Rebels Attack
Attacks by rebels force the army of the Central African Republic to retreat from two villages in Ouaka prefecture.
Central African Republic national army, FACA, forces have retreated following attacks by rebels of the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) on several of its positions in Ouaka prefecture in the centre of the country.
The towns of Boyo and Liotto were the most targeted by the attacks.
“The first attack took place on Saturday December 10 in the locality of Boyo, chief town of the Haute Baideou council, situated 120 kilometres to the northeast of Bambari on the Ippy highway. A CPC military operation against FACA positions in this town profoundly shook the quiet enjoyment of the populations. The attack started at 4 o’clock in the morning and ended one hour afterwards”, a civil society activist told HumAngle by phone.
According to the same source, the second attack took place in the Liotto council, situated about sixty kilometres from Grimari in the Ouaka prefecture. There, the rebels also hit FACA positions. This attack took place yesterday Dec 11, around 4 a.m.
During the two attacks, the FACA forces were completely routed and some of the FACA soldiers who were on the run said the attacks were so brutal that they could not stand their ground.
“Our forces were forced to provisionally withdraw from the two towns before returning later”, a senior military officer who opted for anonymity told HumAngle adding that it is difficult to know the authentic death toll for now.
The national army on its part says they killed two rebels in Boyo while the communication unit of the CPC military high command says the rebels killed several FACA soldiers. One CPC source talks of six FACA soldiers killed and a large quantity of military materials captured from the FACA forces.
In the meantime, in Bangui, the Minister of Communication and government spokesperson, Serge Ghislain Djorie described the two clashes as mere actions by bandits who were disturbing the population. According to him, there are no longer rebels in the Central African Republic.
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