Author Topic: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic  (Read 937 times)

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Offline EC

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French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« on: December 09, 2013, 11:15:54 am »
Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/french-troops-trade-fire-armed-men-c-africa-105232493.html

Quote
Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - French troops charged with disarming rebels in Central African Republic on Monday exchanged fire with armed men near Bangui airport, AFP photographers said.

The shooting lasted a few minutes, and there was no initial indication of casualties. The French army said Monday it had begun the process of disarming rebels in the strife-torn country.

Too brief to excerpt. Watch page for updates.
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Offline mountaineer

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Re: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2013, 01:51:23 pm »
More from BBC:

France begins to disarm Central African Republic militiasFrench troops in Bangui (8 Dec 2013)
French troops were sent into Bangui on Friday after a UN resolution


French soldiers have started to remove weapons from fighters in the Central African Republic (CAR).

There was a brief exchange of gunfire between armed men and French soldiers near the airport in the capital, Bangui, as the disarmament began.

A 1,600-strong French force has been sent into the CAR, deployed after days of communal fighting claimed 400 lives.

The CAR has been in turmoil since March when an alliance of rebels, known as Seleka, seized power.

The alliance has since been disbanded and rebel leader Michel Djotodia is now president.

'End to impunity'
 
France's Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said fighters loyal to interim President Djotodia had to return to barracks and the rest would have to surrender their weapons.

"First we'll ask gently and if they don't react, we'll do it by force. The operation will take some time," he told French media as French troops began patrolling the streets of Bangui.

"The period of impunity is at an end," he said.

The French were sent into the CAR on Friday after the UN Security Council backed a mandate to restore order "by all necessary measures" the previous evening.

The UN resolution followed a surge of violence involving Christian self-defence militias that had sprung up after a series of attacks by mainly Muslim fighters from the disbanded Seleka rebel forces. ...
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rangerrebew

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Re: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2013, 02:04:29 pm »
FLASH: French military has added a new gear to it's tanks.  Forward was added in the event they are attacked from behind.

Offline flowers

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Re: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2013, 06:55:34 pm »
DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL ORDERS US MILITARY TO TRANSPORT BURUNDIAN TROOPS TO CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC AMID CONFLICT

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Offline mountaineer

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Re: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2013, 08:03:25 pm »
So we're getting involved in this one, too?
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Offline EC

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Re: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2013, 08:46:41 pm »
So we're getting involved in this one, too?

Two transport planes. Two round trips.
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Offline flowers

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Re: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2013, 09:06:29 pm »
Two transport planes. Two round trips.
Who are we helping? Christians? French? Muzzies?


Offline mountaineer

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Re: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« Reply #7 on: December 09, 2013, 11:17:25 pm »
Who are we helping? Christians? French? Muzzies?
I can guess ...
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Offline EC

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Re: French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2013, 01:50:31 am »
OK, this is very much grapevine stuff - so check and verify, please as the reports come out.

The Burundian contingent are flying in to help the French forces, the USA is just giving them a lift (thank you!), like the UK is running supply dumps to the French. Targets are both sides pretty much equally - the Muslim rebels which took over the country in an unreported coup are hitting the Christians, the Christians are hitting the Muslims as hard as they can. Both sides are going to be disarmed - good luck with that.

I'd anticipate that the Muslims are dealt with first, but according to the sources the RoE for this little trip is the same as Mali. Someone shoots at you, kill them. Someone looks like they are going to shoot you, kill them. Someone decides to go all genocide on a village? Kill them with extreme prejudice. Despite the many jokes about the French, they really do not screw around when war happens to them.

The French and the African Union have not forgotten the lessons of Rwanda, and we don't need another one of those. That was a horror story beyond all imagining.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2013, 01:57:11 am by EC »
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French troops trade fire with armed men in C. Africa Republic - two killed
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2013, 01:09:41 pm »
Two French Soldiers Killed in Central African Republic --Presidency
First Reported Deaths Since France Deployed Last Week

Dec. 10, 2013 4:50 a.m. ET
WSJ

PARIS—Two French paratroopers have been killed in a combat operation in the Central African Republic, the French presidency said Tuesday.

The men were killed during an overnight operation in the capital, Bangui, a statement from the office of French President François Hollande said.

They were the first reported deaths of French soldiers since France deployed in the Central African Republic last week.

"They lost their lives to save many others," the statement said.

France dispatched 1,600 troops on a mission to re-establish peace in the landlocked country. The intervention with a multinational African force was authorized by the United Nations Security Council last Thursday is aimed at disarming violent militias.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the Central African Republic over recent weeks, caught in a conflict between Seleka militants—predominantly Muslim rebels who ousted the country's government in March—and groups of mainly Christian fighters who have banded together.

For months, the two militias have used a scorched-earth policy, destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy, in their struggle for control of the country, one of the world's poorest.

The two deaths raise questions about French involvement in the African country.

Mr. Hollande has said French troops wouldn't be on the front line in the Central African Republic, but rather back up the African force. However, these deaths suggest French troops are going beyond a support mission and are involved in direct combats. This could complicate Paris's objective of repatriating its troops before the summer, and hand over the peace keeping mission to a full-fledged U.N. force.

Mr. Hollande is due to stop off in Bangui on Tuesday on his way back from South Africa where he attended a memorial service for the former president Nelson Mandela.
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