Three French Cameroun gendarmes have reportedly been taken hostage by French backed rebels fighting the legitimate government in the Central African Republic. Local media says the incident took place on December 26, 2020 in a village in Adamaoua, near the border with the mineral-rich but poverty-stricken nation that has been unstable since independence 60 years ago.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the rebels have demanded the sum of 15 million FCFA from each of the French Cameroun security agents.

The three gendarmes were put on mission to strengthen border security in the Adamaoua region when they  were ambushed by elements of the rebel faction loyal to General Abbas Sidiki, the leader of Central African Republic’s so-called “3R” (Return, Claim and Rehabilitation).

We understand the three French Camerounian gendarmes are currently being held in Ngaoui, a village in the Adamaoua region near the Central African Republic.

The group that is receiving financial and material support from France in its war against the regime in Bangui claimed via an audio message that “if the sum is paid, the gendarmes will be released but without their weapons or their vehicle.”

The 3R militia is the largest armed group in the Central African Republic. Its leader, Bi Sidi Souleymane alias Sidiki Abbas, is a Cameroonian who has presented himself on the CEMAC political space as the defender of the Fulani people.

In August 2020, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions against General Sidiki Abbas. According to the US authorities, the 3R group has killed, tortured, raped and displaced thousands of civilians since 2015 and Mr. Souleymane himself is said to have participated in these atrocities.

General Sidiki Abbas is also on the UN sanctions list.

By Rita Akana