A prominent former leader of one of the militias clashing at the height of the civil war in the Central African Republic was indicted Friday (September 10) with crimes against humanity by judges of a special court in Bangui, five days after his arrest , announced this court.
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Former captain Eugène Barret Ngaïkosset is a former executive in the close guard of former president François Bozizé, overthrown in 2013 by a coalition of armed groups with a Muslim majority, the Seleka.
He was then an important leader of the anti-balaka militias, predominantly Christian and animist, founded by François Bozizé to fight against the Seleka.
These two groups plunged the country into a bloody civil war and were accused in 2015 by the UN of “
war crimes
” and “
crimes against humanity
” during the years 2014 and 2015, at the height of the conflict.
Likely seizure of the ICC
Eugène Barret Ngaïkosset, arrested on September 4 in the outskirts of Bangui, "
was charged with crimes against humanity
" Friday by two investigating judges of the Special Criminal Court (CPS), the latter announced in a statement.
This hybrid court, made up of Central African and international magistrates, is responsible for judging serious violations - since 2003 - of human rights in this Central African country in civil war since 2013.
The CPS prosecutor's office will have to decide whether Ngaïkosset will be remanded in custody pending a possible trial, the statement said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague could also take up the case of the ex-captain.
"The butcher of Paoua"
Eugène Barre Ngaïkosset is nicknamed by the Central African press "
the butcher of Paoua
" in reference to the massacres committed in this north-western town by the army, from 2005 to 2007, when he was one of the commanders of the formidable presidential guard. by François Bozizé.
According to a 2009 report by the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), "
diplomats
" then asked François Bozizé to initiate proceedings against Ngaïkosset, "
commander of a unit of the presidential guard involved in generalized atrocities committed in the north-west
”.
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The ex-captain had created an anti-balaka militia faction after the fall of Mr. Bozizé in 2013. And a UN report, which froze his assets abroad and issued a travel ban notice , accused him in 2015 of "
having engaged in or supported acts (...) contrary to international human rights law
".
The civil war has declined considerably in intensity since 2018, but armed groups, whether or not from the ex-Séléka and anti-balaka, still occupied more than two-thirds of the Central African Republic at the end of 2020. Some launched a rebellion in December against the power of President Touadéra. The latter was finally re-elected on December 27 and his army, thanks to the support of hundreds of Russian paramilitaries and Rwandan soldiers, has today largely reconquered the territory.
