Fighters from Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces and the Central African Republic’s former Seleka rebels on Tuesday attacked a UN base near the Sudan border wounding three Zambian peacekeepers.
The UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) “strongly condemned” the dawn raid in the town of Am Dafock targeting one of its bases in the impoverished, volatile nation.
It said three Zambian peacekeepers were wounded, one of them seriously.
Valentine Rugwabiza, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, said the attacks on the blue helmets “may constitute war crimes under international law”.
Ramadan Abdelkader, the sub-prefect of Am Dafock, told AFP: “Former Seleka fighters and elements of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) coming from Sudan attacked the bases,” adding that 22 people had died.
“We are requesting as many reinforcements as possible from the authorities,” he said, adding that those seriously wounded were being evacuated on UN flights for treatment.
Abdelkader added that later “Russian allies” staged air attacks on the rebels, without specifying whether this intervention had made it possible to regain control of the town.
Am Dafock is a strategic point on the border between the Central African Republic and Sudan.
It regularly faces incursions by armed groups operating on both sides of the border, against a backdrop marked by the war in Sudan since April 2023 and the presence of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the frontier regions.
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