Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BANGUI21
2009-02-10 19:46:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bangui
Cable title:
NEW REPORTS OF VIOLENT CLASHES IN NORTH-CENTRAL CAR
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGUI 000021
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/C FOR SSARDAR, MASHRAF, SLOPEZ, KWYCOFF; PARIS FOR RKANEDA;
LONDON FOR PLORD; YAOUNDE FOR POL/ECON
STATE FOR OPS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR ECON CT
SUBJECT: NEW REPORTS OF VIOLENT CLASHES IN NORTH-CENTRAL CAR
REF: 09 BANGUI 12
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGUI 000021
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/C FOR SSARDAR, MASHRAF, SLOPEZ, KWYCOFF; PARIS FOR RKANEDA;
LONDON FOR PLORD; YAOUNDE FOR POL/ECON
STATE FOR OPS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR ECON CT
SUBJECT: NEW REPORTS OF VIOLENT CLASHES IN NORTH-CENTRAL CAR
REF: 09 BANGUI 12
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: For the last two months, Post has been
following the movements of a group of armed men who attacked
various villages in the north-central provinces of the Central
African Republic (CAR). These attacks were initially dismissed
by commentators in Bangui as being merely unimportant 'ethnic'
clashes in a country where the major conflict is political.
Additional information leads us to fear that this round of
violence may be far more important than initial thought. While
some of our information is little better than rumors, we are
hearing of the familiar patterns of village burnings, civilian
killings, major disruptions in the diamond trade, and direct
challenges to the central government (CARG). While it is clear
that perhaps as many as 3,000 Central Africans have fled to
Chad, the reports of 10,000 new refugees are unlikely as that
number exceeds the number of known inhabitants in the area.
Post is organizing site visits and will report further. END
SUMMARY
2. (SBU) REFTEL traced the movement of an armed band from Sam
Ouandja through Bria to Ndele and attempted to sort out the
players. While REFTEL reported that things are calm in the
Ndele area, the latest word from international non-governmental
groups (NGO) is that fighting has resumed. It is specifically
reported that some twenty civilians were killed when the FACA
burned the village of Sokoumba, north of Ndele. If this is
true, then it indicates a frightening return to the failed FACA
tactics of 2006 which ultimately resulted in the displacement of
as many as 300,000 Central Africans. There is reporting from
Chad of the arrival of some three thousand Rounga refugees from
CAR. The reports of up to 10,000 refugees are unlikely to be
correct as that exceeds the known population of the area.
Beyond crossing over to Chad, most of the displacement is
believed to follow the traditional pattern, seen elsewhere in
the CAR, of fleeing into the bush on the far side of cultivated
fields.
3. (SBU) There is new information on some of the underlying
causes of this conflict. According to various reports, the
Rounga controlled the diamond trade in all directions from the
town of Ouadda, to specifically include Sam Ouandja and Bria.
When Damane Zacharia, the UFDR rebel leader and an ethnic Goula,
signed a peace agreement with the CARG he did not make an
adequate payment to the Rounga, and worse, drove them from the
diamond fields. This split is said to have been brewing since
2006. At some point, they reached out to both Rounga allies and
those in several other groups (Kara, Mandja) in Sudan for money
and weapons. This resulted in the December 2008 attacks on Sam
Ouandja and near Bria; raids to seal weapons from the FACA and
the Gendarmes.
4. (SBU) Upon their arrival in the Ndele area the rebels clashed
with the FACA. Reports are that the Sultan attempted to defuse
the situation, but the CARG has taken a hard line. President
Bozize delivered a strong warning in the Sango portion of his
World Food Day speech in Ndele and the former Minister of the
Interior and now presidential advisor to the president commented
to the DCM, 'We will resolve this by force.' According to
unconfirmed but credible reports by NGOs, it appears that that
'force' has begun.
5. (SBU) About two months ago, the CARG quietly shut down eight
of the twelve licensed diamond dealers in the CAR. Their
directors were all placed under de facto house arrest.
Publicly, the reason given was that they had not yet constructed
headquarters buildings 'for the benefit of the state.' (Sic)
The latest rumor is now that they were shut down in an attempt
to deny the Rounga a means of raising money through the sale of
diamonds. Should this be true, it is a strong indication of how
seriously the Bozize government takes this threat.
BANGUI 00000021 002 OF 002
6. (SBU) This movement into Chad and the bush poses problems
for humanitarian relief as these populations are a long way from
any relief bases in Chad - they are, in fact, much more
supportable from the CAR side. The United Nations and the
various relief organizations in both the CAR and Chad are
scrambling both to provide immediate assistance and to assess
the scope of the problem.
7. (SBU) COMMENT: While we most emphatically do not/not want to
cry 'Wolf!' post takes the events of the last month very
seriously and are making every effort to determine the truth.
If this is indeed the beginning of a serious new rebellion, it
brings with it nasty new overtones of ethnic and religious
conflict - neither of which has been a major factor in the CAR
to date, and could destabilize or destroy the fragile peace that
holds through much of the CAR. END COMMENT
COOK ##
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/C FOR SSARDAR, MASHRAF, SLOPEZ, KWYCOFF; PARIS FOR RKANEDA;
LONDON FOR PLORD; YAOUNDE FOR POL/ECON
STATE FOR OPS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR ECON CT
SUBJECT: NEW REPORTS OF VIOLENT CLASHES IN NORTH-CENTRAL CAR
REF: 09 BANGUI 12
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: For the last two months, Post has been
following the movements of a group of armed men who attacked
various villages in the north-central provinces of the Central
African Republic (CAR). These attacks were initially dismissed
by commentators in Bangui as being merely unimportant 'ethnic'
clashes in a country where the major conflict is political.
Additional information leads us to fear that this round of
violence may be far more important than initial thought. While
some of our information is little better than rumors, we are
hearing of the familiar patterns of village burnings, civilian
killings, major disruptions in the diamond trade, and direct
challenges to the central government (CARG). While it is clear
that perhaps as many as 3,000 Central Africans have fled to
Chad, the reports of 10,000 new refugees are unlikely as that
number exceeds the number of known inhabitants in the area.
Post is organizing site visits and will report further. END
SUMMARY
2. (SBU) REFTEL traced the movement of an armed band from Sam
Ouandja through Bria to Ndele and attempted to sort out the
players. While REFTEL reported that things are calm in the
Ndele area, the latest word from international non-governmental
groups (NGO) is that fighting has resumed. It is specifically
reported that some twenty civilians were killed when the FACA
burned the village of Sokoumba, north of Ndele. If this is
true, then it indicates a frightening return to the failed FACA
tactics of 2006 which ultimately resulted in the displacement of
as many as 300,000 Central Africans. There is reporting from
Chad of the arrival of some three thousand Rounga refugees from
CAR. The reports of up to 10,000 refugees are unlikely to be
correct as that exceeds the known population of the area.
Beyond crossing over to Chad, most of the displacement is
believed to follow the traditional pattern, seen elsewhere in
the CAR, of fleeing into the bush on the far side of cultivated
fields.
3. (SBU) There is new information on some of the underlying
causes of this conflict. According to various reports, the
Rounga controlled the diamond trade in all directions from the
town of Ouadda, to specifically include Sam Ouandja and Bria.
When Damane Zacharia, the UFDR rebel leader and an ethnic Goula,
signed a peace agreement with the CARG he did not make an
adequate payment to the Rounga, and worse, drove them from the
diamond fields. This split is said to have been brewing since
2006. At some point, they reached out to both Rounga allies and
those in several other groups (Kara, Mandja) in Sudan for money
and weapons. This resulted in the December 2008 attacks on Sam
Ouandja and near Bria; raids to seal weapons from the FACA and
the Gendarmes.
4. (SBU) Upon their arrival in the Ndele area the rebels clashed
with the FACA. Reports are that the Sultan attempted to defuse
the situation, but the CARG has taken a hard line. President
Bozize delivered a strong warning in the Sango portion of his
World Food Day speech in Ndele and the former Minister of the
Interior and now presidential advisor to the president commented
to the DCM, 'We will resolve this by force.' According to
unconfirmed but credible reports by NGOs, it appears that that
'force' has begun.
5. (SBU) About two months ago, the CARG quietly shut down eight
of the twelve licensed diamond dealers in the CAR. Their
directors were all placed under de facto house arrest.
Publicly, the reason given was that they had not yet constructed
headquarters buildings 'for the benefit of the state.' (Sic)
The latest rumor is now that they were shut down in an attempt
to deny the Rounga a means of raising money through the sale of
diamonds. Should this be true, it is a strong indication of how
seriously the Bozize government takes this threat.
BANGUI 00000021 002 OF 002
6. (SBU) This movement into Chad and the bush poses problems
for humanitarian relief as these populations are a long way from
any relief bases in Chad - they are, in fact, much more
supportable from the CAR side. The United Nations and the
various relief organizations in both the CAR and Chad are
scrambling both to provide immediate assistance and to assess
the scope of the problem.
7. (SBU) COMMENT: While we most emphatically do not/not want to
cry 'Wolf!' post takes the events of the last month very
seriously and are making every effort to determine the truth.
If this is indeed the beginning of a serious new rebellion, it
brings with it nasty new overtones of ethnic and religious
conflict - neither of which has been a major factor in the CAR
to date, and could destabilize or destroy the fragile peace that
holds through much of the CAR. END COMMENT
COOK ##