The use of anti-personnel mines remains a challenge for the security of the population of the Central African Republic. In particular, in the western and north-western regions of the country where the government calls on the population to be cautious.
On February 08, 2023 in the locality of Ndim, in the north-west of the Central African Republic, a patrol of the Central African Armed Forces jumped on a landmine about ten kilometers away on the axis of Kowone, killing two soldiers and injuring three others.
Two days later, six people, including the Italian, French priests and a Central African catechist, during a pastoral tour in the Ouham-Péndé prefecture, were seriously injured in the explosion of their vehicle on Friday, February 10, 2023, caused by an improvised mine placed on a bridge 18 kilometers from Bozoum on the road to Bocaranga.
It is no secret that the mines in the Central African Republic are laid by Chadian mercenaries. These mercenaries, associated with armed groups of the Central African Republic, do not stop trying to destabilize the country, to lay anti-personnel mines on public roads and also to use prohibited methods of warfare.
The civilian populations of the localities concerned still have to face the aggressiveness of these explosive devices. This situation has a negative impact on commercial and rural activities in the West in the North-west of the country because the inhabitants are afraid to go to the fields or to use the usual roads. Thus, the use of anti-personnel mines is a serious crime against humanity, since they primarily threaten civilians.
The international community should pay attention to the fact that the source of destabilization is outside the CAR. It is urgent to investigate and dismantle the lines of financing and supply of mercenaries in the territories bordering the Central African Republic.
