In a press release released this Friday, November 3, the leader of the Patriotic Movement for the Central African Republic (MPC), Mahamat Al-Khatim, said he wanted to reintegrate the Khartoum agreement signed in February 2019 with the government. The main militias withdrew, denouncing the broken promises of the Central African authorities.
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Two elements would have convinced the head of the MPC to turn again to Bangui: the recent speech by President Touadéra on the “ discussion framework » always open with the armed groups, and the prospect of a possible new dialogue, as requested last week by the head of the United Nations mission, Valentine Rugwabiza, before the UN Security Council.
According to the press release, contacts will be established with Angola, facilitator in the Central African crisis, the African Union and ECCAS, with a view to integrating the combatants into the disarmament-demobilization program (DDR).
A senior leader of the group believes that if this time the Central African government keeps its commitments, other leaders could follow Mahamat Al-Khatim’s MPC. The latter remains willing to discuss despite the life prison sentence handed down against him in September in Bangui, as well as against the leaders of the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC).
Several executives of the rebel coalition nevertheless affirm that this departure does not change anything in the organization on the ground, that Mahamat Al-Khatim had lost control of his men and that few of them would be tempted to follow him in what they qualify as “ rallying “. Two weeks ago, several MPC fighters, including a general, were killed during the attack on a mining site by Wagner’s Russians in the north of the country.
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