VZCZCXRO0717
PP RUEHBZ RUEHGI RUEHTRO
DE RUEHGI #0046/01 0551034
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 241034Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGUI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0837
INFO RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0015
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 0407
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0384
RUEHLC/AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE 0133
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0120
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0232
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0223
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 0097
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0394
RHMFISS/AFRICOM
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0087
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 1051

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BANGUI 000046 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C SSARDAR, MASHARF, SLOPEZ, KWYCOFF 
PARIS FOR RKANEDA 
LONDON FOR PLORD 
AFRICOM FOR KOCH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR CT
SUBJECT: TRIP REPORT FROM VISIT TO NDELE, SOKOUMBA AND NGARBA 
 
1.(SBU) SUMMARY: Ambassador and Management Officer traveled to 
Ndele and Ngarba, Central African Republic (CAR) from 12-15 
February, 2009 to: 
 
-- Investigate reports of the arrival of a new armed or rebel 
group in Ndele and the relationship of this group to reports of 
increasing ethnic conflict between the Goula and Rounga tribes. 
 
-- Confirm reports of thousands of Central Africans fleeing as 
refugees to Chad. 
 
-- Investigate reports that the Central African Armed Forces 
(FACA) were burning villages north of Ndele on the road to the 
border town of Ngarba (aka NGarba-Bord). 
 
After meetings with many different parties in the region as well 
as visits to every village between Ndele and the Chadian border, 
AmEmbassy Bangui can confirm: 
 
-- There is dangerous conflict between the Goula and Rounga 
tribes, but this conflict may be being used as a cover by a new 
rebel group, something even more dangerous. 
 
-- While the numbers of Central African Refugees initially 
reported to be in Chad are exaggerated, the final number could 
well reach 10,000. 
 
-- The FACA are not burning or looting villages, but have 
probably massacred approximately twenty villagers in one 
location and have probably beaten and killed at least two others. 
 
2.(SBU) All of these events risk having tremendous negative 
impact on the nascent peace process in the Central African 
Republic.  The Ambassador discussed his trip with President 
Bozize. END SUMMARY 
 
3.(SBU) On Friday, 12 February, 2009, Ambassador, Management 
Officer, Local Investigator and two drivers departed Bangui in 
two USG vehicles for Ndele.  They were accompanied by the U.S. 
citizen director of the Non-governmental Organization 
International Medical Corp. (STRICTLY PROTECT) Upon arrival in 
Ndele, the group met with members of the delegation sent by the 
Sultan (also the Mayor) of Ndele to negotiate with the rebels. 
The members of the delegation were representatives of various 
Christian and Muslim churches and mosques in Ndele.  They 
reported that the FACA prevented them from taking the road from 
Ndele towards Ngarba, the town on the Chadian border.  They had 
thus bypassed the FACA and circled around in the bush.  They 
reported thousands of people in hiding for fear of the FACA 
after it had massacred some twenty people, including the Chief 
(Chef du Village), at the village of Sokoumba.  Allegedly, the 
FACA arrived during the funeral of a child, ordered the men to 
strip off their clothes, and then shot them.  They reported that 
they were told by the people in the bush that the bodies were 
buried in a common grave, but that they themselves had not been 
able to reach the village or find the grave.  They showed 
digital photos of the makeshift camps in the bush and dirty 
water in the shallow wells that people were digging. 
 
4.(SBU) The next morning, Ambassador called on the Sultan, 
Senoussi KAMOUN.  The Sultan is a well established political 
figure, his family having been in the area for generations.  He 
is also the mayor of Ndele and thus, in principle, represents 
the Bangui government.  (See 08 Bangui 172)  According to the 
Sultan, the "rebels" are breakaways from the UFDR who arrived 
from Bria and that none are from Ndele.  He believed that the 
focus of the problem was in Bangui, not Ndele as he identified 
the leaders of the rebels as being former members of the 
Presidential Guard.  Most of the rank and file were said to be 
ex-UFDR who broke away after the signing of the peace accords 
with the CARG and are mostly Chadians or Sudanese.  He mentioned 
that some are Saras from Chad who have been living in Rounga 
villages in the CAR. 
 
5.(SBU) While calling this a "Bangui Problem," the Sultan 
repeatedly stressed the danger that arises from these rebels 
 
BANGUI 00000046  002 OF 004 
 
 
operating against the backdrop of longer term conflict between 
the Goula and Rounga tribes and quickly recounted the alliances 
and conflicts between the two groups, going back at least a 
decade.  Points of unity and conflict include cattle raids 
against and from the Sudanese (the two tribes had not always 
come to each other's defense), diamond mining rights (Goula 
driving the Rounga off the diamond fields), and various 
individual killings and compensations. (This may relate to 
distribution of payments by the CARG to the UFDR to end the 
rebellion.) 
 
6.(SBU) The Sultan claimed to have been negotiating with rebels 
with some success but stressed that military actions by the FACA 
would be counter productive as they would only hurt the civilian 
population and cause them to flee.  He stressed the conflict 
could not be resolved at the level of the Minister of the 
Interior and urged the Ambassador to solicit direct engagement 
by President Bozize.  The Sultan said that the conflict must be 
resolved quickly; using the mediation of the traditional 
sheikhs, or it risked spreading across the entire Vakaga.  The 
Ambassador promised to share his observations and message with 
President Bozize. 
 
7.(SBU) Following the meeting with the Sultan, the Ambassador 
met with the commander of the FACA in Ndele, Commander NGREPPE. 
Also present was Lt. TOUNDAM of the Presidential Guard.  The 
Commander reported that he had been in the area for about four 
months and that the present problems had begun in Bria.  He said 
that his troops had clashed with the rebels along the road from 
Ngarba to Ndele and that he had suffered three fatalities and 
several wounded.  The rebels are well armed with AK-47 assault 
rifles and rocket propelled grenades (RPG), as well as the usual 
homemade weapons.  He could not estimate a number, but said that 
most were Chadians or Sudanese and not Central Africans.  He 
noted that the ranks swelled with recruits during the course of 
their trip from Bria; some of these being forced recruits who 
are used as porters.  After his losses, his troops returned to 
Ndele, reorganized and counter attacked.  He said that it was 
following this attack that the population fled.  Ambassador told 
the Commander that he was about to take the road to Ngarba. 
 
8.(SBU) Like the Sultan, the Commander stressed that the rebels 
were led by some ten or more former members of the Presidential 
Guard and that this was a "veiled rebellion" hidden by behind 
ethnic conflict.  He further noted that the rebels had at least 
five Thuraya satellite telephone numbers.  He implied that the 
Sultan was not negotiating in good faith and was struck that the 
rebels swore in the name of Allah.  Thus, for him, there was an 
Islamic element to the rebellion. 
 
9.(SBU) Ambassador took the opportunity to stress the need to 
protect the civilian population and to warn that any outrages 
against civilians, besides being a violation of human rights, 
would simply strengthen his enemy.  The Commander responded 
enthusiastically, saying that this was just what he had always 
said. 
 
10.(SBU) Ambassador and party then departed up the road to 
Ngarba.  During the first twenty kilometers, the party passed 
normal, occupied villages.  After that, the villages were 
deserted save for a few unhappy farm and domestic animals.  The 
houses were all locked.  Pausing to explore one village, we 
encountered two wary young men, armed with a spear and a 
machete.  They said that, following the killings at Sokoumba, 
the population had fled into the bush in fear.  They were 
guarding the village against possible looters.  Party continued, 
village by village, until Sokoumba. 
 
11.(SBU) In Sokoumba, the party found what appeared to be a 
small number of bloodied clothes, coagulated blood in the sand 
in drag marks, as well as about fifty shell casings (AK 47 and a 
larger cartridge of the same caliber) in a small area.  There 
were no indications of combat; only one possible bullet impact 
on a wall, no buildings damaged, destroyed, or burned. 
Following the drag marks behind the house, the party found an 
unusual mound of earth; some two/three meters wide and four/five 
 
BANGUI 00000046  003 OF 004 
 
 
meters long, roughly in the shape of a figure of eight; or two 
adjacent holes.  The mound was surrounded by a double row of 
bricks, pried from a ruined building, and the mound was topped 
by two woven mats of the type used as rugs or walls.  A very 
small number of shell casings and bloody clothes were found 
elsewhere in the village.  There were no inhabitants other than 
animals and, as before, everything else appeared completely 
normal.  Large quantities of straw and bricks had been collected 
in preparation for dry season repair of houses.  The only thing 
unusual was the absence of the people. 
 
12.(SBU) Party continued to village of Akoursoubak, where they 
discovered the straw buildings composing the Eaux et Foret 
(Water and Forest) guard post at the southern entrance of the 
village completely burned.  The village was deserted and there 
were no overt signs of the battle between the rebels and the 
FACA which reportedly took place in early January.  There were 
no empty shell casings or bullet holes in buildings, nor did any 
building show blast damage.  In the center of the village 
approximately 10 buildings were burned, leaving only their 
charred brick frames.  Found amongst the ruins were burned 
Islamic and Catholic papers as well as a burned French grammar 
book.  After about 10 minutes a couple of villagers emerged from 
the bush and said that everyone, fearing their safety, had fled 
to the town of Ngarba on the Chadian border. 
 
13.(SBU) The group continued up the road 40 kilometers to 
Ngarba, passing many similarly deserted villages.  On they way, 
they passed a handfuls of fleeing people carrying their 
belongings on foot or bicycle.  When the party arrived in 
Ngarba, they were surprised to find it completely deserted. 
Continuing through the small town, past the abandoned police and 
government offices, they reached the river that forms the border 
with Chad.  People on the bank reported that everyone, including 
all CARG government officials, had fled across the border into 
Chad and were housed in a refugee camp three kilometers north of 
the border.  The border was undefended, not patrolled and not 
delineated.  There were a few people down by the river helping 
refugees across by pirogue [local wooden boats] or on foot.  A 
UN vehicle from the High Commission for refugees (UNHCR) was on 
the Chadian side.  Members of that organization came across to 
the CAR by pirogue and said that they had registered over 5,000 
refugees, mostly women and children.  The UNHCR in Chad 
subsequently confirmed that refugees continued to arrive at a 
rate of approximately 150 per day.  From NGO reports of 
immunization campaigns, we believe that as many as another 5,000 
may be hiding in the surrounding country and making their way to 
the border. 
 
14.(SBU) That evening the party met with a group of Ngarba 
residents who came over to sell food and discuss the situation. 
All expressed great fear of the FACA following the Sokoumba 
killings, especially as their Chef de Village was the first to 
be killed.  They reported that the Imam of Akoursoubak had been 
killed by the FACA, along his assistant.  They further reported 
that mosque was one of the buildings burned.  The villagers 
alleged that the FACA arrived with lists of suspects and began 
beating people in an attempt to gain information.  People were 
very angry and contrasted the behavior of the FACA with the 
allegedly better behavior of the Chadian armed forces. The 
following morning the party departed for Ndele.  Upon reentering 
Ndele, there was a follow up meeting with the Sultan as well as 
a meeting with the Sous-Prefect for the region.  The 
Sous-Prefect said that people on the western road out of Ndele 
were fleeing as well, but in smaller numbers.  He also noted 
that the people in the bush had no potable water.  He went on to 
say that food prices in Ndele were rising as with the 
neighboring villages empty, there was not enough food arriving. 
He said that he, "feared hunger in Ndele."  Ambassador and Party 
returned to Bangui on Sunday, 15 February. 
 
15.(SBU) On Tuesday, 17 February, Ambassador discussed his trip 
and observations with UN Secretary General's Special 
Representative, Francois Fall, and French Ambassador Jean-Pierre 
Vidon.  Both were distressed at the latest turn of events and 
both expressed the greatest pessimism for the negative impact on 
 
BANGUI 00000046  004 OF 004 
 
 
the nascent peace process.  The French Ambassador found 
conditions in Ndele especially worrisome as two major rebel 
leaders who had signed the peace accords and participated in the 
Political Dialogue, Miskine and Saboun, had just released a 
statement in Tripoli in which they threatened to take up arms 
again.  (COMMENT: A threat which was, in fact, carried out on 
Saturday 21 February.)  Ambassador Fall reported great 
frustration in dealing with the follow-on to the National 
Dialogue.  The APRD leader Demafouth was seeking to be put in 
charge of the disarmament and demobilization of all rebel 
groups.  This is most unusual as he, himself, is the leader of 
one of those groups. No one had any real information on the 
prison break at Bosambele, but all agreed that it was a 
tremendous blow to the prestige of the Bozize regime that anyone 
could conduct a successful attack upon one of the CARG's 
strongest garrisons, only about 300 kilometers from Bangui. 
Fall and Vidon were both extremely pessimistic about the future 
of peace in the CAR and agreed that the Ambassador had to brief 
President Bozize on his trip to Ndele, reported SEPTEL. 
COOK