February 22, 2022

Four French soldiers who were escorting a general from the UN force were arrested Monday followingnoon at Bangui airport, the French embassy in the Central African capital tweeted.

The four men were still in detention in the evening, confirmed a local diplomatic source on condition of anonymity, adding that “the problem is being resolved, at this stage, there is no concern”. “The close protection team of General (Stéphane) Marchenoir, Chief of Staff of the Minusca Force (United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic), made up of four French soldiers, was arrested this followingnoon at the Bangui airport,” the embassy said in a statement.

Many private accounts then spread on social networks accusing the French soldiers of having wanted to “assassinate” Central African President Faustin Archange Touadéra, with many photos of their alleged vehicle and weapons “seized” during their arrest.

A Franco-Russian War of Influence

For its part, the diplomatic representation condemned on Monday “the immediate instrumentalization on certain malicious networks and the gross disinformation to which [l’incident] gave rise”. The soldiers “were at the airport to escort the general, it was a combination of circumstances that meant that at the same time, President Touadéra’s plane landed”, explained the Parisian army staff.

In a press release, the Minusca said “to regret this incident and strongly condemns its instrumentalization on social networks, in an attempt to manipulate public opinion”. “She categorically rejects the charges of undermining state security,” concludes the peacekeeping force. The Minusca has regarding 15,000 soldiers and police in this country among the poorest in the world and in civil war for almost nine years.

This incident comes at a time when relations between France and its former colony are increasingly tense, exacerbated by a fierce war of influence between Paris and Moscow, in this country in civil war since 2013. France blames the Central African Republic to be “accomplice” of an anti-French campaign orchestrated by Moscow, in particular by countless critics on social networks and in certain media. And Moscow criticizes Paris for accusing the Russian private security company Wagner of having seized the country’s power and resources.