12 killed, several wounded in Central African Republic road ambush

KIGALI, Rwanda

At least 12 people were killed and several others wounded when rebel fighters ambushed and torched three trucks carrying passengers from a regional capital in the Central African Republic on Tuesday, a local official said on Wednesday.

The vehicles were heading to the small town of Alindao from Bambari, the headquarters of Ouaka prefecture, when the militants linked to the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) attacked them at around 1.00 p.m. local time (1200GMT) in the village of Matchika, Victor Bissekoin, prefect for the prefecture, told media.

“The death toll may rise,” Bissekoin said, adding that it was a “very unfortunate incident in which innocent people lost their lives.”

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which supports the main hospital in Bambari, said on Wednesday that it had received 15 bodies and seven patients with gunshot wounds.

Among the dead was a five-year-old child, a MSF statement said, adding that it had no information about the incident that resulted in the deaths and injuries.

Three Russian mercenaries (Wagner Group) were reported killed on Saturday when their convoy was ambushed by the CPC rebels in the village of Bombo, in the Mambere-Kadei area, west of the Central African Republic.

The central African nation has been devastated by violence since former President Francois Bozize was ousted in 2013.