© AFP – CAMILLE LAFFONT
A vehicle of the rebel armed group 3R in Bouar, September 25, 2020.
In the Central African Republic, attacks using mines have multiplied in the country in 2021. Armed groups, in particular the 3R, pushed back from large towns, have resorted to guerrilla techniques.
These armed groups that are rife in the Central African Republic are increasingly laying improvised explosive devices along the roads to counter pro-government forces. Three Bangladeshi peacekeepers were injured on Friday, December 31, in an explosion on the Bouar-Bocaranga axis, nearly 500 kilometers from the capital Bangui. The day before, three Tanzanian peacekeepers were also injured, including one seriously, in the explosion of another explosive device in the west of the country.
Contacted by RFI, Hans de Marie Heungoup, political scientist at the International Crisis Group, believes that the use of mines by 3R rebels is an undeniable tactical change in the long term.
« We have not seen this group resort to such procedures in previous years. There are two ways to analyze this tactical evolution of the 3R movement. Either this reflects the disproportion of forces, with the Russian paramilitary forces and the Central African armed forces, which might probably be in terms of personnel and military equipment more important than the 3Rs and therefore the 3Rs would have recourse to this asymmetric means to try to level this differential power, a priori. Either this would not translate into a weakening, but rather a maneuver of the 3Rs to, henceforth, wage the war by harassment tactics, by maneuvers aimed at preventing the access of the Russian forces and the Central African armed forces to the areas which are under their control. domination and also by maneuvers aimed at undermining the morale of Central African troops and Russian paramilitaries. »
Civilians, the main victims
Hans de Marie Heungoup, a political scientist at the International Crisis Group, also emphasizes the civilian populations who, according to him, are the big losers in this tactical change on the part of the 3R rebels.
« So far, while it is true that these improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have caused property damage and death among Wagner’s forces as well as the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), those who are paying the highest price are the Central African citizens who, by the dozen, have already died as a result of IED explosions, as well as humanitarian actors. We often see convoys, trucks or even pickups from humanitarian agencies that have been destroyed by IEDs with loss of life and loss of equipment. All of this has consequences for the ability of the international system and the United Nations system to deliver humanitarian aid in that area. »
