Some of you may have heard of the recent incident (Apr. 20) in CAR that left two people dead and a few others injured...there have been some embellished versions of the story floating around...
Below is the full story that we received today that will hopefully dispell any rumors. We (Safari Outfitters) work closely with Jean-Pierre Bernon of Club Faune and received this update from his office:


CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
A 4x4 hunting vehicle "sprayed" by poachers - 2 dead 3 wounded!

At the end of April, in the C.A.R., while most of the personnel of the company Hunting-Vision-Safaris was leaving the hunting area, Gassa, to return to N'Délé, one of the vehicles transporting several of these employees was attacked by Sudanese poachers. The toll is heavy: 2 dead, including a Frenchman, and three wounded, including a Central African professional hunter.

On the morning of Monday April 30, Daniel Breyton, a Frenchman working as a camp manager for Hunting-Vision-Safaris, was organizing the end-of-season return of the company's employees to their villages towards the town of N'Délé situated 100 kms to the north of the camp.

Two vehicles
The number of people is numerous and two vehicles are necessary to transport everyone.
The first truck is a Unimog, and the second is an almost new Toyota 4x4 HZJ79.

The Unimog, at the head, leaves the camp early this morning. The Toyota, driven by Daniel Breyton accompanied by the Central African hunting guide Aoumar Aboussair, follows behind several hours later.

The two vehicles take the North-South (Kamara) road, which crosses the entirety of the hunting concession #21 of N'Goumbiri Safari.
It is a good road, maintained every year by a 'Bull' leveler.

Just before midday, the Unimog arrives at the camp of Idongo Safari, which lies along the route to N'Délé, in the north of sector 21.

The passengers on board the Unimog immediately indicate that there are many tracks of Sudanese poachers on the trailroad of zone 21 between the crossing place at the river Goumbiri and the natural bridge at Bamingui. (“The tracks are easy to identify because all Sudanese poachers seen, met or intercepted since January are wearing fatigues and ‘Ranger boots’,†explains the professional hunter, Christophe Lemée, who has the lease for hunting sector, 21 and who went himself to where the shooting took place.)

His remarks were confirmed by M.X. (whose identity we do not reveal for reasons of safety), who is the person in charge of the anti-poaching program sponsored by APFC (Association for the Protection of the Fauna of Central Africa); he, too, has seen the tracks of several Sudanese poachers walking south, towards the Toyota.

The poachers, who surely heard the Unimog coming, hid.
The outcome for the Toyota, unfortunately, was different.

But let us go back a little.

Sprays of AK-47
During mid-morning, a violent storm bursts; the rain arrives quickly in these tropical zones at this time of year.
Daniel Breyton stops the Toyota to tarp-down his load before taking to the road again.
As is often the case, especially on a good road, the driver is doing 45/50 kms per hour.
Because of the rain, the sound is very masked and the noise of the Toyota engine, which is already a particularly quiet one, is not easily audible at more than a few meters.

Towards 11H00, Daniel Breyton, Aoumar Aboussair and the eleven other people on board the 4x4 arrive in a light descent, in front of a small stream named Sazéra.
It is the place where, in several moments, the drama will take place.

The six Sudanese moving self-confidently down the track are surprised by the arrival of the vehicle. They open fire almost within arm's distance. Seven rounds of AK-47 traverse the windshield, and another 20 perforate the right wheel cover as well as the door and the passenger side of the vehicle.

Daniel Breyton is hit in the head. Aoumar Aboussair, as for him, is hit by four rounds and is ejected from the vehicle. The woman of a tracker is seriously hit, as are two other people.

No longer in control, the Toyota continues on its path for some 150 meters until the front right end hits a tree on the side of the track.

The survivors flee into the bush and regain the camp of Goumbiri Safaris, 6 kilometres away, on foot.
Two witnesses see the Sudanese poachers. They approach the vehicle, learn that a European has been killed, speak quickly in their language, and run away.

Intervention of Mr. X.
Towards 12H00, with excellent reflexes, one of the survivors calls (thanks to a Thuraya satellite phone) M.X, who is at the base camp of Ecofac at Sangba – just 10 kilometers from where the drama took place.

In the time it takes to gather his men and head to the indicated place, M.X arrives on the spot at 13H30.

The Sudanese are already gone and, thanks to the rain that erases their tracks, it is obvious that it will be impossible to follow their tracks.
M.X, unfortunately, can do nothing more for Daniel Breyton, who is still seated at the wheel.

On the other hand, he provides first aid emergency care to a seriously wounded woman, and to Aoumar, and to the two casualties who lie near the vehicle.

M.X evacuates all the wounded as quickly as possible towards Sangba to where a plane has already been called, as well the body of Daniel Breyton.

The bush plane takes off immediately to the capital, Bangui, where casualties will be handled by the hospital.

Unfortunately, and in spite of the speed of the intervention and the evacuation, the woman who is seriously wounded -– and who is none other than the partner of the tracker Kamif, who works for nearly 10 seasons for Hunting-Vision-Safari – dies the following day.

Benoit the company waiter, and the wife of Dimanche, the launderer, who were more lightly wounded, leave the hospital after a few days.

As for the professional hunter Aoumar Aboussair, seriously wounded by four rounds of Kalachnikov, he is, as of today, Wednesday May 9, out of danger. On the other hand, it is not certain that it can guide and run, again, through the bush, one day.

The body of Daniel Breyton will be repatriated in France Friday May 11.

Was this an ambush?
Taking into consideration these dramatic events, obviously the question arises: Were Daniel and his staff awaited by the poachers in order to ambush them?

The conclusions, drawn from returning again to the site two days after the events, by PH Christophe Lemée and Mr. X. show that: No. Which obviously does not excuse any aspect of this odious act.

The facts
1: The Unimog passed without any trouble.
2: The empty casings of AK-47 were found and indicate that the poachers shot from a distance of less than 10 meters from the track in a completely open place.
3: There were no impacts on the back of the truck.
4: With the axis of penetration of the bullets in the vehicle body, it appears clear that the vehicle was taken for a target from the front and shot at until it by-passed the gunners.
5: No further shots were taken after the initial shooting.
6: Nothing was stolen from the vehicle.
7: The poachers did not finish-off the casualties and did not attempt to kill those who were fleeing.

It is possible that the Sudanese believed they were seeing the vehicle of Lab (the anti-poaching unit of Apfc), which is also a Toyota.
They could have, in the confusion, been frightened and opened fire immediately.

Which Future for Safaris in CAR?
In view of this terrible drama, it is obviously certain that in CAR things will never be the same.

It is true that Chadian and Sudanese poachers have been present for many years in the country in spite of the efforts of the professional hunters, who have gathered together within Apfc, to fight against the massive destruction of elephants.

Is it necessary to specify that it is obvious that Apfc, alone, cannot do everything?

And fortunately, until this fateful April 30, never has something so serious ever occurred. This season, the poachers nevertheless had clearly indicated to C.A.R. nationals that they had better leave them to their work.

Remarks which they had also made to the professional hunter Matthieu Laboureur when in February, they encircled his camp to recover two horses found by villagers in the bush that they had brought to the guide…

Thus let us hope that Daniel and this woman will not have died for nothing… And that this drama will make the authorities move…

Because as indicated by Thierry Fécomme of Hunting-Vision-Safari: “We are the lessees and big-game hunting is the number one natural resource of the country in north! Thus, it is inconceivable that we alone, the licensed professional hunters, are doing with our meagre means what others should be doing on a large scale…

“In any case, for Hunting-Vision-Safari, taking into consideration this drama which touches us closely, it is obvious that if nothing is done to make safe and to ‘clean’ the northern zones, we will not guide a safari the next season.â€

For his part, Jean-Pierre Bernon of Club-Fauna, who works in partnership with licensed PHs Christophe Lemée (N’Goumbiri Safari) and Matthieu Laboureur (Idongo Safari) he awaits their return before making any decisions.

Lastly, even if it is the end of season, the majority of the organizers have cancelled the last safaris, including for species of the bakos and forests, like bongo, as a result of these events.

Nevertheless, other PHs – and not the least important ones – have decided to to do their forest species safaris. This is the case, that includes Alain Lefol, Jacques Lemaux and Rudy Lubin.

It should be noted that on the morning of May 3, the radio operator at the base of Sangba announced that the day before, towards 16H00, a hundred shots had been heard with 2/3 kilometers to the north-east of the base, along the Bamingui.

Which clearly indicates that the Sudanese are still tracking the area’s last elephants.

Within 24 hours, an interview, above all, with Jean Louis Laborde, President of the Association APFC (Association for the Protection of Fauna in Central Africa) who is currently in Bangui in RCA.

Getting things straight …
“Such a drama obviously causes feelings, disgust, fury and compassion. But also, in some people, fictions.

“Thus some people, hunters, pseudo-journalists who play at being big-time reporters and transmit totally false information without having witnessed the drama, without having gone to the place, without having verified their information.

“They do it because they feel personally invested in a mission of bringing out-of-the-ordinary stories to their preferred publications.

“Thus, one finds on certain websites and magazines – often in good faith – information that has nothing to do with the truth.

“Ambush, assassinations… these are powerful words.

“Finally, it is true, these murders reach us all deeply; but pay attention not to create a psychosis and consequently to hawk false information that will be used only for one thing: to leave the door a little more open to the poachers and their buddies.â€

Daniel Breyton
Daniel was in love with Africa. Born in the Saône and the Loire in Dracy le Fort, this 59-year-old gentleman had worked for two years as a camp manager for Hunting-Vision-Safari after having worked beforehand for Daniel Koudoumé (Oubangui Chari Safaris).

I had met him last year while on assignment. We had immediately sympathized. He was a man who, in addition to his kindness, had hands of gold.

Something has broken down. He arrives, in the middle of the bush, to not only understand and explain why, but, as we say in France, to “se démerder†– to improvise - with nothing!

It was just another new challenge to him.

Daniel leaves his partner and a son.



SAFARI OUTFITTERS, INC.

Sounds like a bad deal all the way around. The anti's will use this as more fuel to push the ivory ban next month. Meanwhile ivory poaching will continue as will the illegal ivory trade. LDK

How much does a team of mercenaries cost for a year? Partly funded by outfitters, government, Ngo's and hunting associations could make it affordable...

how much they cost depends on what you want them to do.