Central African Republic's government calls for dialogue

The Central African Republic's government has denounced any attempts to disrupt efforts to restore normalcy and called for dialogue as stipulated in the Libreville agreement, an official said on Tuesday. "This is a major blow to the Libreville agreements," the government spokesman Crepin Mboli-Goumba said, adding that even though the agreement signed between President Francois Bozize and the Seleka rebel coalition might not have been perfect, it's the only ideal solution that will help to end the crisis between the two parties. The political climate in the Central African Republic remains tensed despite the January 11 peace agreements in Libreville after a new rebel attack on Monday morning in the south-eastern locality of Bangassou. "We said in Libreville that we shall now start resolving our problems through dialogue," Mboli-Goumba recalled and urged the Seleka coalition to exercise restraint. The Libreville agreement had provided for the disarmament of the Seleka fighters as well as other active armed movements in the Central African Republic. The leaders of the rebels insisted that the disarmament program will only proceed on condition that the Ugandan and South African troops leave the country. Mboli-Goumba said that the government was looking into the conditions given by the rebels in order to offer a solution. The attack at Bangassou comes a few days after Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye who was the former coordinator of the democratic opposition, started grouping the Seleka rebels on March 3, to prepare for the start of the disarmament operation.