A Facebook post claims that MINUSCA deployed a temporary base of the Zambian contingent in Amdafock with the intention of preventing government forces from fighting rebels in Vakaga (Birao). This claim is false, as refuted by MINUSCA, the Ministry of Defense and Restructuring of the National Army, and local authorities in Vakaga.
Amdafock, a town in the Vakaga prefecture (Birao) in the Central African Republic, near the Sudanese border, has often been the scene of violent clashes, armed group incursions, intense tensions, and sometimes deadly confrontations between herders and farmers over complex transhumance issues, causing significant panic within the communities.
The most recent tension dates back to November 30, 2023. In response to this pressing security issue in the area, viral posts have claimed that MINUSCA established an operational base to prevent the Central African Armed Forces from carrying out their sovereign mission.
Published on January 31, 2024, on the Facebook page “l’Afrique Libre,” which has over 15,949 likes, 103 comments, and 12 shares, the viral post asserts: “The deployment of a temporary operational base of the Zambian contingent of MINUSCA in Amdafock aims to prevent government forces from fighting rebels in Vakaga.” This post, originally in English, also has a French version available to Centrafrique Check.
According to MINUSCA, this deployment was carried out as part of its mandate to support Central African authorities and ensure peaceful transhumance.
In an interview, Vladimir Monteiro, MINUSCA’s spokesperson, explained, “Between December and part of January, the locality of Amdafock (Vakaga) did not have the presence of national defense and security forces, and the town was under threat from armed groups. Consequently, local authorities requested MINUSCA’s intervention, leading to the deployment of a temporary operational base of Zambian peacekeepers on January 21, 2024, to protect the population and ensure peaceful transhumance, not to prevent FACA from fighting.”
Léonard Mbele, Prefect of Vakaga, further clarified to Centrafrique Check: “This is truly false information, as MINUSCA and the Zambian forces have been in Vakaga, specifically in Birao, since 2015 to ensure the population’s safety. It has been two years now that the Zambian force, together with our defense and security forces, has been present in Ouadda Djallé and Tirigoulou. Following security meetings, we requested their deployment to Amdafock at the border to secure the population.”
Centrafrique Check also contacted Captain Firmin Amolomalo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense and Restructuring of the National Army, who stated: “We have not received such information from the Vakaga area. There are no rebels in Amdafock, only bandits organized in armed groups. I can assure you that this information is completely false.”
Zakaria Abde, a resident of Birao, added: “This information is false. There are MINUSCA contingents based in Amdafock to protect the population, but not to prevent FACA from fighting rebels here. Moreover, there is no FACA presence in Amdafock; it is the deployed Zambian forces securing the border.”
This information emerged following the deployment of a temporary operational base of the Zambian peacekeeping contingent in Amdafock on January 21, 2024.
In conclusion, the post claiming that the deployment of a temporary operational base of the Zambian contingent of MINUSCA in Amdafock aims to prevent government forces from fighting rebels in Vakaga is false, as verified.
This article was edited by Esdras Michael Ndamoyen.
