CAR Peace Deal Reached in Khartoum Signed in Bangui by All Sides - Commissioner

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Sofya Grebenkina - A peace agreement between the authorities and armed groups of the Central African Republic (CAR), reached in Sudan's capital of Khartoum, was signed in Bangui by all the participants in the peace talks on Wednesday, Smail Chergui, the peace and security commissioner of the African Union, told Sputnik.

"It has already been finalised. We [have] just signed it [in Bangui]", Chergui said.

He also stated that Russia should be commended for the role it played in the talks.

"We want to thank the Russian Federation for their participation in this process", the commissioner added.

On Tuesday, Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadera and 14 armed groups initiated the peace agreement at talks in Khartoum.

READ MORE: Central Africa Peace Talks in Khartoum to Conclude Saturday — Commissioner

The landlocked CAR has been suffering from a drawn-out conflict since a coup in 2013. Much of the fighting in recent years has been between the Muslim-majority Seleka and Christian Anti-Balaka militias.

On 24 January of this year, the CAR government for the first time engaged in direct talks with the country's opposition groups, with negotiations having been brokered by the African Union.

It became known on 2 February that the conflicting sides had agreed to establish a mixed border security mechanism between the CAR government, UN troops and representatives of the armed groups.