Great Lakes region leaders meet regarding crises in CAR

KIGALI, Rwanda

African leaders in the Great Lakes region met Friday in the Angolan capital, Luanda, to discuss the security crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR).

The meeting under the International Conference of Great Lakes Region was convened by Angolan President Joao Lourenco, as the current head of the regional group of 11 countries to promote peace and sustainable development, according to a statement.

A new mediator for the CAR was expected to be appointed to a new role which was announced during a leaders’ meeting in November.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of sending military reinforcements to the Central African Republic, according to sources.

It was attended by leaders from Angola, CAR, Congo, Rwanda, Chad and Sudan.

The central African nation has been devastated by violence since 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted then-President Francois Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias.

Last month’s presidential election was the first following the signing of a peace agreement in February 2019 between the government and 14 armed groups.

But the election, which saw Faustin-Archange Touadera re-elected, was followed by violence.

Earlier Friday the UN refugee agency said more than 200,000 people fled fighting, with 92,000 crossing into neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, while 13,000 crossed to Cameroon, Chad and the Republic of Congo.

Rwanda said in December that it deployed force protection troops to the CAR, under an existing agreement with that nation, in response to the targeting of its peacekeepers serving under the UN mission and to ensure peaceful general elections held at the end of the year.