A.U urges C.A.R leaders to ''silence all weapons'' in 2019

The African Union has called on leaders in the Central African Republic to ‘‘silence all weapons’‘ in 2019 to restore peace to the country.

Head of Peace and Security Commission at the AU, Ismail Chergui said this at the opening of peace talks on the Central African Republic in Khartoum, Sudan on Thursday.

“It seems to me that the time has come to silence all weapons, but also to silence all means of expression of hatred, of division, whether it be means of communication, false rumors, fake news. I think the time has come, really, to turn this difficult and painful page “, Chergui said.

The Sudanese government also urged all parties to refrain from entrenched positions and see the bigger picture.

“We call on Central African parties, governments and the opposition, as well as armed movements, to comply with this principle and to know that they came here to make compromises and not stick to their positions. They came here to sacrifice for their homeland “, said Sudanese Foreign Affairs Minister, Al-Dierdiry Ahmed.

This is the first time that leaders of armed groups dialogue with high profile officials in the Central African Republic.

Talks, which are expected to last for a few weeks are geared towards an agreement and a monitoring committee to bring peace to the nation.

Seven peace agreements have already been signed since the beginning of the Central African crisis at the end of 2012. None of this deal has succeeded in bringing stability to this Central African country of 4.5 million inhabitants.

On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, fighters of one of the main armed groups, the Central African Peace Unit, from the former Muslim rebellion Seleka, attacked a Minusca base in Bambari , according to a UN source.

AFP