CAR Militants Commit Terrorist Attack Using NATO-Style Fuses, Officers Union Reveals

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Militants in the Central African Republic (CAR) have carried out a terrorist attack using NATO-style fuses, the chief of the Officers Union for International Security, Alexander Ivanov, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, an air attack took place at a cotton factory in the CAR town of Bossangoa, according to Ivanov.

"No one was injured, but the authorities of the republic are concerned, because NATO-made M904 fuses with partially erased inscriptions in English were used for the attack. This is another example of the transfer of Western weapons to militants from their patrons," Ivanov said.

Ivanov noted that the air attack in Bossangoa is "a new militant tactic aimed at civilian infrastructure to cause economic damage to the CAR."

"We do not know yet what other terrorist attacks they are planning to commit, but we are strengthening security. The CAR Republic Day is coming soon, it is obvious that this terrorist attack was timed to this holiday. Together with the security forces of the CAR, we will make sure that the holiday goes without excesses," Ivanov added.

The CAR was plunged into a security crisis by a coup in 2013, followed by violence between Muslim-majority Seleka and Christian Anti-Balaka fighters. In February 2019, CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera and leaders of 14 rebel groups signed a peace agreement, consenting to an inclusive general election in a bid to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.

However, the country saw another outburst of violence caused by the results of the 2020 presidential election, when Touadera’s opponents accused him of electoral fraud.

In early 2018, Russia sent its first military instructors to the CAR at the request of the government. As of February 2022, a total of 1,135 Russian instructors have been operating in the country, training military personnel of the CAR army. Moscow has stressed that Russian representatives are not involved in hostilities and were deployed in the CAR with the notification of the UN Security Council.

In August, the CAR notified the UN of plans to increase the number of Russian instructors at the disposal of the CAR's defense and security forces by 3,000 people.

Republic Day is a national holiday in the CAR, celebrated on December 1 every year. This holiday commemorates the anniversary of the African country becoming an autonomous territory within the French Community in 1958.