The information claiming that MINUSCA is complicit in civilian massacres committed by Wagner forces is entirely false, according to MINUSCA, the deputy of OUANDA-DJALLE, and the Ministry of Defense and Reconstruction of the National Army.
Quick Verification:
On June 26, Corbeau News Centrafrique published a report alleging that MINUSCA was complicit in massacres of civilians by Wagner forces in OUANDA-DJALLE, as claimed by Nourd Gregaza, President and Founder of PRNC. The publication suggested that UN peacekeepers never attempted to protect civilians during these attacks. However, this is a false claim, and it should be viewed with caution.
The Central African Fact-checkers Association (AFC) contacted the deputy of OUANDA-DJALLE, located in the BIRAO prefecture, 954 km from Bangui, as well as MINUSCA and the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense and Reconstruction of the National Army. All of them refuted this information.
Detailed Verification:
MINUSCA, through Guy Carima, categorically rejected the claim: “This is false information, pure disinformation. MINUSCA on the ground does not work with the Russians.”
On Tuesday, July 5, 2022, AFC contacted Adam Idriss Sende, the deputy of OUANDA-DJALLE, who denied the claim, stating: “First, it’s important to know that there are people who do not want peace in the CAR. It is true that OUANDA-DJALLE was attacked by armed groups, but it was MINUSCA that first drove them out. Later, the Rwandans and the Portuguese arrived to help restore calm so the population could return to the city. So, this is false information.”
Firmin Amolomalo, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense and Reconstruction of the National Army, added: “MINUSCA, in partnership with the FACA, led the battle to liberate OUANDA-DJALLE before the arrival of the Portuguese and Rwandans. The Russians were not present during the liberation of this area, and there were no massacres of civilians. If such an incident had occurred, the deputy would have raised the issue with state authorities, so this is false information.”
This misinformation arose following the clashes between the Central African Armed Forces and the rebels of the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) on June 17, 2022, in OUANDA-DJALLE. The false information appears to have been spread to tarnish the image of the Central African Republic and hinder the restoration of state authority in the provinces.
By Boris Zekema / AFC
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