Chad troops fight rebels in CAR
2012-12-19 11:31
Bangui - Chadian troops entered the neighbouring Central
African Republic (CAR) on Tuesday following an appeal from Bangui's president
Francois Bozize after rebels seized a number of key towns, a CAR military
official said.
A coalition of three rebel factions is threatening to
overthrow the Bozize government, demanding respect for different peace accords
signed between 2007 and 2011.
"Heavily armed elements of Chadian ground forces aboard
20 vehicles arrived in the middle of the afternoon at Kaga Bandoro where they
joined elements of the Central African armed forces based there," the CAR
official told AFP.
The intervention occurred after the rebels captured the
diamond-mining and garrison town of Bria, 400km northeast of the capital.
Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno is a close ally of Bozize
whom he helped when the high-ranking army officer seized power in 2003.
Chadian forces, who have successfully quelled rebellions in
the east of their own country, had already been sent to CAR in November 2010 to
drive out Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP) rebels from the north-eastern
town of Birao.
The military official said Chadian forces were to "back
up Central African armed forces in the counter-attack aimed at retaking towns
that have fallen into the hands of the rebels".
Bozize was expected in Kaga Bandoro on Tuesday night before
the allied troops would head for the "occupied areas", he added.
A coalition of rebel factions operating under the name of
Seleka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR earlier Tuesday took Bria, ousted the underpaid, disorganised
and badly equipped government forces and began looting its shops.
The attack came eight days after a UFDR fringe group
attacked the towns of Ndele, Sam Ouandja and Ouadda.
