CAR Extends State Of Emergency For Next Six Months As Fight Against Rebels Continues

The Central African Republic (CAR) government on Friday announced it has decided to extend a state of emergency for the next six months across the country as combat against the rebel groups continues, reported Anadolu Agency.

The lawmakers met during an assembly session on Friday and adopted the bill extending the state of emergency which was initially declared on Jan. 21. The state of emergency allows the military to detain suspects without going through a prosecutor.

Backed by United Nations, Russian and Rwandan troops, the CAR army has been fighting rebels who are trying to overturn the December election results in which President Faustin-Archange Touadera was declared as the winner.

“The government asked the National Assembly (to extend it), and it accepted,” government spokesman Ange Maxime Kazagui said. “We are in a state of war, and we need this legal instrument to conduct investigations, search for people, find out who is financing this war, and more.”

The decision was welcomed by Prime Minister Firmin Ngrebada who congratulated the country’s armed forces and allies fighting to restore order and security. The CAR armed forces captured the city of Yaloke and its surrounding areas from rebel groups on Friday.

Earlier this week, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the recent violence in the CAR, reiterating his call for a global cease-fire. The situation in the country worsened after the rejection of former President Francois Bozize’s candidacy for the presidential election in December last year.

Earlier this week, the Democratic Opposition Coalition, comprising over a dozen political parties, announced its withdrawal from the current electoral process and its rejection of the results.

Notably, more than 200,000 people have fled their homes in less than two months, the UNHCR said last week, warning that tens of thousands of people face dire living conditions.