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

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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
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