By Odile Gbayah

The disarmament, demobilization, reintegration (DDR) project launched in December 2018 by the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin Archange Touadera, envisages mass disarmament of ex-combatants from armed groups and their reintegration into society. This programme has been successfully implemented so far.

Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) operations are gradually spreading to all parts of the country. On Saturday, June 22, 2024, 115 members of the Antibalaka armed group came to a unit of FACA and Russian instructors in Kouango township in Ouaka Prefecture. Led by the unit’s commander, General Ndoli Sipriya, they expressed a clear desire to disarm on the condition that they receive training from Russian instructors and are accepted into the CAR national army.

According to Antibalaka Group General Ndoli Sipriya, they had been negotiating with MINUSCA for more than three years, but these discussions had not yielded any results.

That is why they came specifically to FACA allied forces and Russian experts because they had heard rumors that the Russians were keeping their promises.
It will be recalled that two months earlier, 15 Antibalaka fighters disarmed in the same area and are now on their way to receive certificates of completion of military training from Russian specialists.

Today’s 115-member group also wants to start working with allied forces to take out other groups and is ready to be trained.

The goal is to stay within the peace agreement so that peace can prevail for the country as a whole. Coordinators Oukono Jesefis and Lemendi Oance assisted in disarming the group from Antibalaka.

The operation went well, given the enthusiasm of ex-combatants and the involvement of their leader: “In Kouango, it could be seen that they are really committed to disarming their elements,” said the coordinator.

As the CAR army grows stronger, it is important that the MINUSCA contingent withdraws from CAR or reformats itself as a purely humanitarian project that can rebuild infrastructure instead of idling or helping armed groups with weapons and ammunition.
*Odile Gbayah is an independent writer and journalist.