Rwanda and Russia have sent troops and supplies to the Central African Republic to help in controlling violence by rebel groups right before the elections on Sunday. The rebels have been a force and an issue for the security forces and U.N. peacekeeping force as they had captured towns and roads outside the capital city.
The former President, Bozize was held responsible for this incident as his Presidential candidature was earlier rejected by the court. His rejection was due to the accusation of plotting a coup with various militant groups. However, these accusations were denied by his spokesperson.
The UN Security Council condemned the actions of the rebel groups after a briefing was held by the peacekeeping chief Jean Pierre Lacroix. The members of the Security Council demanded all actors to urgently stop hostile actions and work towards creating an environment safe for elections to be held.
The Central Asian Republic government confirmed that Rwanda and Russia had provided effective support which arrived on Sunday, 20th December 2020. This was further confirmed by the Rwanda Defense Ministry. However, Russia denied any such aid or support give to the Republic despite it having sent troops earlier to CAR to increase its influence in the African region.
The claim by Russia that they had not sent any support was contradicted by a security source in Bangui who stated that Russian planes have landed carrying military personnel and supplies. Russia has friendly ties with the CAR President Touadera and even has a Russian national as its security adviser. Bozize was accused of attempting ways of disrupting the elections by the United States, France, and Russia.