It is not yet the escalation between Chad and the Central African Republic. Maybe there won’t be. But the tension that has long simmered under ashes has taken on growing proportions since May 30, 2021 following an “unfortunate misunderstanding” between the armies of the two countries. This clash, which caused both sides to lose life, rekindled the tension, since Chad, which said it was “attacked”, promised reprisals, while the Central African government pleaded for a peaceful solution “for do not agree with our common enemies ”.
According to our information, it is established that beyond this clash, the two armies fell into the trap of the rebels, in a context of suspicion coupled with a climate of insecurity, especially as the rebellions which scour this region generally have their base in each of the two respective countries.
The offensive led by the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) against the rebels of the Coalition for Change in the town of Mbang who fled towards Chadian territory, unfortunately caused clashes between the regular Central African and Chadian armies.
According to some analysts, the anger of the Chadian authorities comes from the fact that during this punitive expedition against these Central African rebels, Russian soldiers who fight alongside the FACA were formally identified. Russian-made weapons used on the occasion have aroused the wrath of French authorities, who view the growing Russian influence in the courtyard with a dim view.
Known by France which maneuvered for its international “recognition”, the Military Transitional Committee (CMT) under pressure from Paris is increasing threats against the Central African Republic which has come under the “tutelage of the Communists”. For Chad, this clash which left five dead in the ranks of its army is nothing more or less than a “war crime of extreme gravity and this premeditated murderous attack planned and carried out inside Chad, for which only the Central African government knows the reasons, cannot go unpunished ”.
France qualifies Russian “instructors” as mercenaries who loot minerals in the Central African Republic, all things having, among other things, led President Emmanuel Macron to announce to his Central African counterpart Faustin Archange Touadera that “the 2020 budget aid will not be disbursed and that of 2021 suspended ”.
It should be remembered that Chad had helped the rebel Seleka coalition to overthrow President François Bozizé, and had also supported Touadéra when the latter came to power. Gradually emancipating himself from his mentors and especially after his rapprochement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Idriss Déby Itno did not fail to take up the cause of the rebellion which several leaders have taken refuge in Chad. France was indexed for complicity.
The arrest, on May 10 in Bangui, of a French mercenary, Juan Rémy Quignolot, provided with a war arsenal and accused by the Central African authorities of wanting to instigate a coup d’état with the support of the Chadians, contributes to revive tensions between the two countries with France and Russia in the background. Followers of chaos who hope for a clash between the two neighbors to sell arms could wait a long time, since the telephone exchange on Tuesday June 1 between Faustin Touadéra and CMT chairman Mahamat Déby Itno began to ease the situation.
According to the latest news, CAR envoys who had been “stranded” in Douala in Cameroon for two days for lack of authorization from the Chadian authorities are in Ndjamena where they were received by “the highest Chadian leaders”. While we are moving towards a de-escalation between the Central African Republic and Chad, Russia and France, who are certainly not happy to lose a market to sell their weapons, are nevertheless continuing their struggle for influence on African soil, with in sight, the control of natural resources.
