MINUSCA steps up security after attack on northern CAR base

The United Nations mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) is stepping up security at its base in the northeastern town of Am Dafock, following an attack there last month.

Fighters from Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Central African Republic's former Seleka rebels attacked the base located near the Sudan border on 30 June.

The assault killed members of the military, security forces and civilians, and wounded three UN peacekeepers from Zambia.

Authorities said more than 16,000 displaced people were gathered near the UN base in Am Dafock, while more than 2,000 others had taken refuge in the Vakaga capital, Birao, around 60 kilometres away.

"At this stage things have settled down but of course, we must remain vigilant," MINUSCA spokesperson Joël Ndoli Pierre said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

"MINUSCA is setting up a number of measures to ensure that security is strengthened at its temporary base in Am Dafock," he added.

Valentine Rugwabiza, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, had previously said the attacks on the blue helmets "may constitute war crimes under international law."

Am Dafock is a strategic point on the border between the Central African Republic and Sudan.

It regularly faces incursions by armed groups operating on both sides of the border, against a backdrop marked by the war in Sudan since April 2023 and the presence of the RSF in the frontier regions.

In 2024, a UN report said the RSF was using Am-Dafock as a "key logistical hub", including for recruitment.