CAR rebels suspend fighting
2012-12-21 16:16
Bangui - Rebels in the Central African Republic have
suspended fighting to give talks with the government a chance, but will
maintain their positions in the north, a spokesperson said on Friday.
"The coalition made a unilateral decision from Thursday
evening to suspend operations on the ground, to give a chance for the dialogue,
which we have been calling for since the start of operations," Michel
Djotodia, one of the leaders of the Seleka rebel coalition, told AFP.
"We are asking our men to maintain their positions and
not to react to provocation while we wait for sincere talks to open," he
added.
Chad has said it would host talks on Friday between rebels
and the government of the Central African Republic, a deeply poor landlocked
country, as wells as a summit of the Economic Community of Central African
States (CEEAC) to discuss the crisis.
Chad, whose president is a close ally of Central African
President Francois Bozize, on Wednesday sent troops across the border at
Bangui's request.
Djotodia said that since Chad had made it clear that they
were there to separate the two sides rather than to attack the rebels, they
were ready to suspend operations pending the negotiations.
Rebels from the three groups in the Seleka coalition, which
was formed in August, have been heading steadily southwards from Ndele, a major
northern town close to the Chadian border, which they captured on 15 December.
Despite condemnation of their offensive by the Central
African oppositions, the African Union and the UN Security Council, they have
refused to pull back from the towns they have captured.
The rebels accuse Bozize of failing to follow through on
peace deals agreed between 2007 and 2011 by providing financial support and
social reinsertion for rebels who lay down their arms.
A Chadian opposition alliance, the CPDC, meanwhile denounced
Chad's military intervention in CentrAfrica.
The opposition groups have previously criticised Bozize for
having failed implement the peace accords.
