EU welcomes truce in Central African Republic

Central African Republic’s government and rebel fighters signed a ceasefire agreement, under the aegis of the Economic Community of Central African States. If the Seneka coalition’s demands not be met within one week, the cease-fire will not be honored, said Col. François Florian Njadder-Bedaya, a rebel spokesman, according to NY Times.

"The High Representative welcomes the signing of an agreement between all stakeholders, to put an end to this new episode of instability that the Central African Republic is currently going through. She calls on all signatories to comply fully and in good faith with the agreement they have signed and to implement it without further delay. Such an agreement is a first step out of the crisis. To be sustainable, the normalization and stabilization of the country in the longer term requires the underlying causes of the outbreak of recurrent conflicts in the Central African Republic to be addressed in a consensual way by all stakeholders and that appropriate responses be made. The High Representative welcomes in particular the rapid response of Heads of State of ECCAS and their efforts to work towards a resolution of the crisis through dialogue and negotiation. She calls on ECCAS to monitor the implementation of this agreement. The European Union is ready to support, in coordination with other partners, ECCAS in these efforts” said the spokesperson of Catherine Ashton.

According to the new agreement, President François Bozizé will not resign but a new coalition government will be formed. The rebel troops will not retreat from the north of the country, they will await the formation of the new government, the release of political prisoners arrested during the upheavals and the departure of the troops from South Africa and Angola who were sent to reinforce the government.