Central African Republic rivals agree ceasefire after Brazzaville talks
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Version 0 of 1. Central African Republic's (CAR) mainly Muslim Seleka rebels have signed a ceasefire with the "anti-balaka" Christian militia, after dropping their demand for the country to be split along religious lines. Seleka's call for CAR to be officially partitioned into a Muslim north and a Christian south risked derailing talks aimed at ending religious violence that has killed thousands of people. The truce was signed on Wednesday in Brazzaville, Congo, after three days of talks hosted by the president, Denis Sassou N'Guesso, chief mediator in his neighbouring country's crisis. The clashes in CAR have forced a million people, or about a quarter of the population, to flee their homes. "We have taken the first step today. The journey is long, but we have made promises. After what has happened here, I am confident," Sassou N'Guesso said at the signing ceremony. The Brazzaville talks involved dozens of members of armed groups, the transitional government and civil society members. Further negotiations will be held in CAR over the country's political future. "We have signed this ceasefire agreement today in front of everyone. Our commitment is firm and irreversible," said Mohamed Moussa Dhaffane, head of the Seleka delegation at the talks. Patrick Edouard Ngaissona, who led the anti-balaka delegation, echoed the pledges of peace, saying anyone caught breaking the ceasefire would be arrested. The former French colony has been gripped by violence since Seleka, a coalition mainly comprising northerners and fighters from neighbouring Chad and Sudan, seized power in March 2013. Seleka's rule was marked by abuses that prompted the creation of the anti-balaka militia. Cycles of reprisal violence have continued, despite Seleka's leaders stepping down from power in January. About 2,000 French and 6,000 African peacekeepers have been deployed to CAR, but they have struggled to help the weak transitional government stamp its authority on the mineral-rich country. Most Muslims have fled the south, creating a de facto partition, but Dhaffane had pushed for this to be formalised. The demand was dropped after hours of talks with Sassou N'Guesso on Wednesday. |