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Faustin-Archange Touadera, President of the Central African Republic, delivers a speech at a campaign rally in Bangui, Central African Republic [Andre Ba/Xinhua via AP]
The killings come as violence escalates one day before Central African Republic voters head to the polls to elect a president and a new parliament.
Unidentified “armed fighters” have killed three Burundian peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations said on Friday, hours after a rebel coalition fighting the government canceled a unilateral truce and reiterated calls for the suspension of a general election. scheduled for Sunday.
The attacks against UN peacekeepers and Central African Republic troops took place in Dekoa, central Kemo prefecture, and Bakouma, southern Mbomou prefecture, the UN said in a brief statement.
“Three members of Burundi’s peacekeepers were killed and two others were injured,” the statement said, without providing further details.
The attacks came as voters in the Central African Republic were preparing for presidential and legislative elections, seen as a key test of the country’s ability to regain stability after decades of political upheaval and armed conflict.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera, seeking another term, is the favorite to win the presidential election in a field of 17 candidates.
The country’s constitutional court ruled on Saturday that presidential elections will take place as planned on Sunday, after various opposition groups, as well as a recently formed coalition of armed groups, the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CCP) , asked for a delay in the vote.
The court has rejected several nominations for the elections, including former president Francois Bozize, who was removed from office in 2013 after a rebellion led by Seleka fighters.
Speaking from the capital Bangui, Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi said the atmosphere is fraught with tension.
“The court said that the petitioners did not have sufficient reasons to postpone the elections,” he said.
“We have talked to UN officials who say that 70 percent of the country is safe enough for people to go out and vote. We have spoken with the government spokesperson who said yes, they expect a low voter turnout, but they hope that this turnout is not so slow as to discredit the process. “
The CCP, formed on December 19 and made up of militia groups that together control two-thirds of the country, launched an offensive last week and threatened to march on the capital, Bangui.
The government called the move a “coup”, accusing Bozize of fueling the CCP rebellion to disrupt the elections.
The former president, who is under UN sanctions, denied the claim.
The rebel alliance’s progress was halted with international aid: Russia and Rwanda sent troops to prop up the Touadera government, while the UN mission in South Sudan also sent 300 peacekeepers to the Central African Republic on Thursday to help the country. to “secure the elections.”
The CCP announced a brief unilateral truce on Wednesday, but canceled it on Friday, saying the government had “brazenly rejected” this “opportunity for peace.”
Hours later, the UN MINUSCA peacekeeping force said fighting resumed in Bakouma, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Bangui. Armed men had tried to advance down the main roads towards Bangui but were detained, according to MINUSCA, which has more than 12,500 uniformed soldiers in the country.
Touadera, who has been campaigning in Bangui flanked by Russian, Rwandan and UN guards, has urged voters to come out and vote without fear on Sunday.
“They are trying to come to Bangui. You Central Africans must open your eyes, ”he told his supporters at his last campaign rally. “Help our armed forces, the UN MINUSCA peacekeepers, Rwanda and Russia. They are giving us a hand. Don’t let those armed fighters enter the city. “
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday, the UN resident coordinator in the country, Denise Brown, said the situation in Bangui is “calm.”
“The distribution of the voter cards is ongoing and the electorate of this country that is registered to vote is coming in large numbers to collect their cards,” he said.
“The population is determined to vote tomorrow. And we are determined, at the United Nations, with the support of the international community, to ensure that the vote goes ahead. “
Several opposition candidates had stopped their campaign some time ago, demanding a postponement of the elections.
Meanwhile, ean Serge Bokassa, son of the country’s self-proclaimed emperor, withdrew from the race, citing security concerns. Opposition candidate and former prime minister Anicet-Georges Dologuele, backed by Bozize, is now Touadera’s strongest rival.
Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi said people “have no appetite for any kind of conflict … and they want to exercise their right to vote.”
“When you leave Bangui, into the countryside, people are very scared. We have news of fights in various places, of displaced people, “he added.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday that at least five civilians have been killed, while the UN said more than 55,000 people have fled their homes for fear of attack.
HRW, in a statement Wednesday, accused the CCP of wreaking havoc and said the groups that make up the alliance have committed war crimes in the past five years, “including the deliberate killing of civilians, the rape of women and girls, and deliberate destruction of civil property “. .
Meanwhile, Paul Melly, a member of the Africa Program at Chatham House, said the government of the Central African Republic was unlikely to agree with the CCP’s demands and delay the vote.
“The United Nations, MINUSCA and the government have gone to great lengths to organize themselves to mobilize the electoral process,” he told Al Jazeera from London, the UK capital.
“They got everyone to register, they have been distributing or starting to distribute voter cards … a lot of people in Bangui want to go ahead and exercise their right to vote.”
