The peace deal aimed at resolving the conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) is at risk of collapsing less than a month after it was reached.
Three militia groups which were among the 14 that signed the February 3 Khartoum agreement are unhappy with the composition of the new government announced on Sunday, AFP reports.
The militias signed the deal with CAR’s president Faustin-Archange Touadera hoping to end the years of fighting.
One of the factions, Democratic Front of the Central African People (FPDC) is quoted by the BBC as saying it had, “resolved purely and simply to withdraw from the peace process”.
The government was “far from being inclusive,” the FPDC added.
The Patriotic Movement for Central Africa (MPC), another militia has raised similar concerns saying it regards the treaty as “void”.
The thorny issues
According to the AFP, the militias were furious the central government held onto sensitive key posts, while six of the 14 armed groups obtained no post at all.
CAR is one of the world’s poorest countries and has gripped with unrest for years.
Since May 2017, fresh and fierce clashes between armed groups have brought increasing suffering, deaths and destruction of property, according to the UNHCR.
Back in December 2013, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes as violence spread with armed groups controlling parts of the country.
Surge in violence has forced over 543,000 CAR refugees to remain in neighbouring Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo.
There are others seeking refuge in Sudan and South Sudan.
The country is undergoing an internationally supervised transition involving a constitutional referendum as well as presidential and parliamentary elections.
Source: Africafeeds.com