WorldAfrica
Touadéra welcomes three freed after 10 months held by Azandé militia in Central African Republic
A local official and two election workers seized on polling day in December were flown to Bangui on a UN plane after months of talks by the MINUSCA peacekeeping mission.
Key points
- The three were kidnapped in Bambouti on election day in December.
- Their release followed months of negotiations by MINUSCA, the UN mission.
- Sub-prefect Koumba Ndiaye called the ordeal 'truly horrific'.
Three people held for about 10 months by an armed group in the far south-east of the Central African Republic have returned to the capital Bangui, where President Faustin-Archange Touadéra was waiting to greet them.
The three, a local government official and two members of the National Election Authority, were seized in December, on the day of the general election, in Bambouti, a small town in Haut-Mbomou prefecture close to the border with South Sudan. They were freed after months of negotiations with their captors by MINUSCA, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, and flown to Bangui on a special UN flight to a heroes’ welcome.
Speaking at the ceremony, Koumba Ndiaye, the sub-prefect of Bambouti, described the captivity as “truly horrific” and said the time in the bush had been extremely hard. She spoke of her immense joy at being received by the president.
The hostages were held by Azandé militants, a group that emerged in the Haut-Mbomou region in 2023 to drive out fighters of the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic rebel group. The Azandé fighters were trained by Russia’s former Wagner paramilitary group.
Neither the government nor MINUSCA has said whether anything was given in return for the three, or whether others are still being held in the region.