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Centrafrique: The Anti-balaka militias kidnapped several NGO's employees in order to free one of their leaders
Eve Malonga
Karen Sullivan for translation
BANGUI (LNC) — Two workers of the French Catholic medical NGO CODIS (Coordination Diocésaine de la Santé), among them French - Thérèse Priest, better known with her aka Claudia Priest -, have been abducted on Yesterday in Bangui, the Central African republic capital.
According to the CAR gendarmerie, these people arrived in a 4WD vehicle carrying medicines, when a group of armed men took over the vehicle on Monday morning around 8:00 (07h00 GMT).
"We were three aboard our vehicle coming from Damara (70 km North of Bangui) where we were in mission. And 4 anti-balaka militiamen, armed with Kalashnikov stopped us on the road right in the city", told Brother Elkana Ndawatcha, the religious who driven the vehicle.
"I was released after the stealing of my cell phone, my banking documents and cash I had on me. One of the abductors took the control of the car, and with my colleagues as prisoners, ran towards the district of Boy-Rabe ", he added.
ABDUCTION AGAIN TODAY
On this Tuesday morning in Bangui, a UN Kurdish female staffer has been kidnapped also.
The United Nations mission in the CAR, MINUSCA, released a statement today, in which it said that the woman had been seized while she was on her way to work.
"Unidentified armed men kidnapped on Tuesday a woman who works for MINUSCA after having stopped the vehicle in which she was travelling. A similar kidnap attempt failed just a bit earlier," the MINUSCA statement said.
CAPTORS DEMAND THE RELEASE OF ANDJILO
The kidnappings by the anti-Balaka come after the arrest of their widely feared commander, Rodrigue Ngaibona aka "general Andgilo", on Saturday in Bouca by the MINUSCA forces.
And the Anti-balaka militias calls for his immediate release against hostages in their possession.
Previously on Sunday, they denounced his arrest. " We denounce the disorder in which the international community wants to maintain us in order to continue the chaos in this country. We shall not tolerate a justice with double speed ", declared their spokesman Igor Lamaka.
From the CAR government, Bangui confirms be negotiating with the Anti-Balaka for the liberation of these hostages.
© January 2015 LNC - LA NOUVELLE CENTRAFRIQUE
Karen Sullivan for translation
BANGUI (LNC) — Two workers of the French Catholic medical NGO CODIS (Coordination Diocésaine de la Santé), among them French - Thérèse Priest, better known with her aka Claudia Priest -, have been abducted on Yesterday in Bangui, the Central African republic capital.
According to the CAR gendarmerie, these people arrived in a 4WD vehicle carrying medicines, when a group of armed men took over the vehicle on Monday morning around 8:00 (07h00 GMT).
"We were three aboard our vehicle coming from Damara (70 km North of Bangui) where we were in mission. And 4 anti-balaka militiamen, armed with Kalashnikov stopped us on the road right in the city", told Brother Elkana Ndawatcha, the religious who driven the vehicle.
"I was released after the stealing of my cell phone, my banking documents and cash I had on me. One of the abductors took the control of the car, and with my colleagues as prisoners, ran towards the district of Boy-Rabe ", he added.
ABDUCTION AGAIN TODAY
On this Tuesday morning in Bangui, a UN Kurdish female staffer has been kidnapped also.
The United Nations mission in the CAR, MINUSCA, released a statement today, in which it said that the woman had been seized while she was on her way to work.
"Unidentified armed men kidnapped on Tuesday a woman who works for MINUSCA after having stopped the vehicle in which she was travelling. A similar kidnap attempt failed just a bit earlier," the MINUSCA statement said.
CAPTORS DEMAND THE RELEASE OF ANDJILO
The kidnappings by the anti-Balaka come after the arrest of their widely feared commander, Rodrigue Ngaibona aka "general Andgilo", on Saturday in Bouca by the MINUSCA forces.
And the Anti-balaka militias calls for his immediate release against hostages in their possession.
Previously on Sunday, they denounced his arrest. " We denounce the disorder in which the international community wants to maintain us in order to continue the chaos in this country. We shall not tolerate a justice with double speed ", declared their spokesman Igor Lamaka.
From the CAR government, Bangui confirms be negotiating with the Anti-Balaka for the liberation of these hostages.
© January 2015 LNC - LA NOUVELLE CENTRAFRIQUE
