Post date: Dec 27, 2012 7:17:56 PM
Insurgents threaten to take the capital of Central African Republic and topple the government after taking a string of towns, including Kabo, in weeks of fighting.
KABO, CENTRAL AFRICA REPUBLIC (SEPTEMBER, 2009) (REUTERS) - Rebels in Central Africa said they had temporarily halted their advance on the capital city on Thursday (December 27) after they seized the city of Kabo last week, one of several towns taken by the insurgents since they launched their offensive further in the north and northeast of the country the previous week.
After weeks of fighting the insurgents have driven to within 75 km (45 miles) of the capitalBangui, threatening to end President Francois Bozize's nearly 10-year-stint in charge of the turbulent country.A military source and an aid worker said the rebels had got as far as Damara, 75 km (47 miles) from Bangui, by late afternoon on Wednesday, having skirted Sibut, where some 150 Chadian soldiers had earlier been deployed to try and block a push south by a rebel coalition.
Officials from around central Africa were due to meet in Bangui later on Thursday to open initial talks with the government and rebels.
A rebel spokesman said fighters had temporarily halted their advance to allow dialogue.
Previous rebel promises to stop advancing have been broken, and a diplomatic source said rebels had taken up positions around Bangui on Thursday, effectively surrounding it.
Rebels took the market town of Kabo on December 19. It is a border post for neighbouring Chad.
Several armies from Central Africa have troops in the CAR as part of the MICOPAX stabilisation mission, and Chad sent extra soldiers earlier this month to try and halt the rebel advance.
With a government that holds little sway outside the capital, some parts of the country have long endured the consequences of conflicts in troubled neighbours such as Chad, but also Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo spilling over.
The rebel advance has highlighted the instability of a country that has remained poor since independence from Paris in 1960 despite rich deposits of uranium, gold and diamonds. Average income is barely over $2 a day.