Small Wars Journal

U.N. Experts: Arms Influx Fuels Central African Republic Violence

Mon, 07/30/2018 - 12:06am

U.N. Experts: Arms Influx Fuels Central African Republic Violence by Aaron Ross – Reuters

DAKAR (Reuters) - Deliveries of Russian weapons to Central African Republic’s security forces this year have pushed rebel groups to bolster their own stockpiles as they consolidate control over large parts of the country, a U.N. panel of experts said on Friday.

Central African Republic has been battered by violence since 2013 when mainly Muslim Selaka rebels ousted then president Francois Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias.

Despite Faustin-Archange Touadera’s election as president in 2016 and the deployment of thousands of U.N. peacekeepers, most of the country remains beyond the control of the Bangui government.

The U.N. Security Council granted Russia an exemption to Central African Republic’s arms embargo in December to allow it to provide light arms to government forces and send military and civilian instructors to train them…

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