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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| New CAR leader disarms incredulous gunnies who brought him to power |
| 2003-03-21 |
| The leader of rebels who captured this coup-prone African nation's capital has asked his fighters to hand over their weapons to troops from neighboring Chad, prompting the insurgents to accuse their leader of betraying them. "Thanks boys, couldn't have done it without you. Omar, grab their guns and grease 'em first chance you get." Former army chief Gen. Francois Bozize's fighters took over Bangui last weekend as President Ange-Felix Patasse visited Niger, sparking days of looting. About 100 Chadian troops flew into the city on Wednesday to restore order at Bozize's request. The Chadian soldiers said Thursday that Bozize had given them the orders for disarm his fighters. Not Libyans? Loulou Rodrigue, a self-described rebel mercenary, stood with other insurgents near an armored vehicle after Chadian soldiers in red berets relieved them of their weapons. ``They took all the guns we have, even the pistols,'' he said. ``What a surprise. Bozize could have asked us to return the guns. He shouldn't have told the Chadians to take them from us.'' "Yeah, we was almost done lootin' and pillagin'!" The soldiers told insurgents to report to military barracks for payment and dismissal, or integration into the Central African Republic's mutiny-prone army. Great idea, incorporate a bunch of rebel hard boys into a mutiny-prone army. I think the new Prez won't be in power too long. Many rebels complained that Bozize had always planned to shunt them aside, even after they fought to install him in power. "But lootin' is lootin', ya know!" Bozize's fighters attacked the capital on Saturday and quickly captured the city's airport, causing Patasse to fly to Yaounde, Cameroon, where he remained Thursday. By Sunday evening, Bangui had fallen to the rebels and Bozize had suspended Central African Republic's constitution and parliament, naming himself president. For days, citizens and Patasse's presidential guards looted the city's downtown while bandits robbed homes at gunpoint in the suburbs. While the pillaging has largely subsided, banks, schools and government offices remained shuttered on Thursday. Bozize — who has promised a Where's he going to find a bunch of honest people in the CAR? Unless he's planning on inviting in the US Marines, which isn't likely. Central African Republic — a country of about 3.6 million people that is rich in gold, diamonds and uranium — has been plagued by military revolts and other uprisings since gaining independence from France in 1960. Patasse, elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1999, has been accused by opponents of rampant corruption, and his rule has been increasingly divisive. Bozize, a one-time Patasse supporter, lost in the 1993 elections. In 2001, he was accused of involvement in a failed coup against Patasse and went into hiding in the rural north and neighboring Chad, where he launched his rebellion. Talk about a sore loser! |
| Posted by:Steve White |