Ouagadougou, Relations between the Central African government and Minusca are very tense after the strafing of a minibus of UN soldiers in Bangui last Monday, AIB learned on Friday.
Tension is mounting between the Central African government and the United Nations (UN).
The strafing of a minibus of the soldiers of the UN mission in the Central African Republic by the presidential guard near the home of the Head of State in Bangui, caused the injury of 10 peacekeepers last Monday.
The UN bus ended up at the site by mistake and came under heavy fire without warning before hitting a young girl in her flight, who was killed, according to a press release from the Munisca (UN mission for the peacekeeping in the Central African Republic) quoted by RFI.
The perpetrators of this “ criminal attack ” against the blue helmets must be immediately arrested, tweeted last Wednesday, the head of Munisca, Mankeur Ndiaye.
A statement that angered the government.
The Central African government questions the error of the route and justifies the shots by explaining that the peacekeepers have tried to take photos of the residence of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra.
Thus, version against version, press release against press release, relations between Bangui and the UN mission are no longer “good luck”.
Central African Foreign Minister Sylvie Baïpo Temon said in a statement that the peacekeepers broke the rules and are therefore responsible for the girl’s death.
According to the government, the shots fired by the presidential guard targeted the vehicle’s tires.
A version that the photos of the UN-stamped minibus riddled with bullets, as well as the shattered windows and the ground covered in blood, corroborate less.
“The message (of the government) does not reflect reality,” laments Minusca, which refuses the joint investigation proposed by Bangui.
“La Minsuca will make its own investigations” and the government its own, indicates the spokesperson for the UN mission, Mankeur Ndiaye.
Sylvie Baïpo Temon, asks for a “review of the obligations of the two parties” during the debate on the renewal of the mandate of Minsuca, expected in a few days in New York.
Source: Burkina Information Agency