STREET BATTLE BETWEEN FULANI AND LOCAL MERCHANTS LEAVES AT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGUI 000078 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/C PARIS FOR RKANEDA LONDON FOR PLORD AFRICOM FOR KOCH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR CT SUBJECT: STREET BATTLE BETWEEN FULANI AND LOCAL MERCHANTS LEAVES AT LEAST 17 DEAD IN BANGUI ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: At 6:30 AM on April 12, 2009, a group of Fulani herders attacked Muslim traders at the cattle market (Marche du Betail) twelve kilometers from the center of Bangui. Details are still unclear, but there are at least seventeen dead. The violence was not directed at U.S. citizens and there are no reports of any U.S. citizens affected. By noon, Police, Gendarme, Army, and Presidential Guard units responded to the scene and reestablished order. Prime Minister Archange Touadera was eventually able to negotiate a settlement with the help of the First Lady Monique Bozize, the president's son and Deputy Minister of Defense Francis Bozize and the Chadian Embassy DATT. Post distributed a Warden Message and contacted all U.S. Citizens in country by telephone. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) Details are still unclear, but it is reported that the police elements present fled the scene and a pitched battle ensued between Fulani headers and Muslim traders at the Marche du Betail. The Fulani, armed mostly with bows and poison tipped arrows accosted Muslim cattle traders who responded with firearms and machetes. Police, Gendarme, Army, and Presidential Guard units finally responded by noon and managed to reestablish order. There are no reports of any U.S. citizens being affected. Post issued a Warden Message and called AmCits, a process made more difficult due to the lack of electricity and poor telephone service. ¶3. (SBU) POLOFF and FSNI visited the community hospital at eleven AM to understand the breadth of the violence. POLOFF counted seven dead Fulani and six dead Muslims covered in bloodied shrouds. POLOFF visited the emergency room, whose floors and walls were blood spattered from earlier in the morning and FSNI observed a male with three arrows in his abdomen being wheeled into an operating room. Present were at least five wounded in various states of triage and a nurse said it was impossible to measure the number of wounded at that time. Since, the death toll has been confirmed at seventeen, but rumored to be twenty due to the quick burial of some Muslim victims who thusly may not have been counted. The total wounded are thought to be at least thirty five. ¶4. (SBU) By 2:00 PM, Prime Minister Archange Touadera had arrived at the scene to mediate the conflict. He was reportedly joined by the Chadian Defense Attache (DATT) who has been at the center of a Fulani/APRD (Army for the Restitution of Democracy and one of the four major rebel groups in the CAR) dispute that has recently roiled the Kaga Bandoro region. Monique Bozize, (Representative in the National Assembly for the Marche Betail area),and her son, Francis (Deputy Minister of Defense),were dispatched to talk down the Muslim community at the Km 5 Grand Mosque. The combined efforts of the two mediating groups defused tensions, at least for now, and the Fulani reportedly returned north with the cattle that were at the center of the dispute. Post will make all efforts to understand the dynamics of this event as it shows a heretofore unprecedented level of political acumen by the Prime Minister and the Bozize family. It also sheds light on the importance of the Chadian presence, as until recently, it was the French military that were the behind-the-scenes arbiters of most disputes. ¶4. (SBU) Conflicts between the nomadic, cattle herding Fulani (also referred to as the Peuhl, or the Bororro Fulani) and settled, agricultural farmer populations have been a source of BANGUI 00000078 002 OF 002 conflict in Central and West Africa for decades. Over the last weeks, there have been reports of increased fighting north and east of Bangui. Allegedly a group of Fulani stole, or did not pay an agreed price for, cattle from Muslim merchants who in turn stole cattle back. This set off a series of violent reprisals which, until now, the Central African Government (CARG) has ignored as a local problem. The deaths of over seventeen people in one morning represents a new level of bloodshed, hence the Warden Message. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: The Fulani are an oft oppressed minority in the CAR. A migratory people by nature, they are considered wealthy due to their cattle holdings. Thus many, particularly children, have been kidnapped by rebels and bandits and held for ransom. In some places, the FACA and the rebels are both reported to demand a `tax' in cattle from the Fulani. As a result, over 80,000 Fulani have fled the CAR and sought refuge in Cameroon and Chad. Yesterday's conflict appeared to be primarily a commercial and not an ethnic dispute. Both the merchants and the Fulani are Muslim, thus there is no religious aspect to the fighting, a constant worry here considering the resentment that the majority Christian population feels towards the more wealthy Muslims. Furthermore, though well respected, the Prime Minister is generally held to have little if any real authority or influence within the government, thus his mediation of this crisis may signal an opportunity for him to impose his will on future events. Additionally, the work of Mrs. Bozize and her son show an unusual engagement by the President and while it may be the result of necessity, it is possible the President realizes at last that the lack of law and order is a serious problem and must be handled if he is to maintain his position. END COMMENT FBCOOK