Two French employees of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic have been arrested, the peacekeeping mission announced on Thursday.
According to MINUSCA, the two employees were detained on January 10 upon their arrival at Bangui M'Poko International Airport, located seven kilometers northwest of the CAR capital.
“MINUSCA confirms the arrest, on 10 January 2023 around 4 pm, of two of its staff members (international consultants) of French nationality,” the mission said. “MINUSCA is currently in contact with the national authorities to resolve the matter.”
In the meanwhile, Central African radio station Ndeke Luka reported that the detainees were two French soldiers who did not have a CAR visa at the time of arrival. They were arrested by border guards.
The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic was established by a decision of the UN Security Council in the spring of 2014. Its task is primarily to protect the civilian population of the country in the center of Africa.
To date, the mission has more than 14,500 staff members, including 12,870 military personnel and 2,000 police officers. Many UN-member states have sent military contingents to MINUSCA. Rwanda, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, and Zambia are among the top military contributors to the peacekeeping mission.
On December 15, 2022, France’s Defense Ministry announced the withdrawal of the last unit of the French Armed Forces from the territory of the CAR. The French unit was part of a logistics mission based at the capital's airport. The decision to suspend direct military assistance to the Central African Republic was made by the French leadership in the summer of 2021.
Authorities in Bangui said that the country did not expel the French military from its territory, but that Paris independently decided to withdraw the contingent.