CAR chasing ivory-laden donkeys
June 22 2010 at 08:36PM



Bangui - Authorities in Central African Republic are chasing heavily armed ivory smugglers who have threatened villagers as their caravan of donkeys carries tusks northwards, officials said on Tuesday. The gang entered Dekoa, a town around 60 km from Mala in the centre of the landlocked country, early on Tuesday.

"This armed gang and more than a hundred donkeys loaded with elephants' tusks arrived in Dekoa and fired several shots, which scattered the population," said regional governor Dieudonne Badawapi.

"The decision has been taken to intercept this gang," said a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"This is the first time a gang as numerous, and carrying as many tusks, as this one, is crossing the country," said Joseph Bolbo, chief of forest and water management.


The trade in ivory has been banned for years, but poached material can command large sums on the black market.

Central African Republic, one of the continent's most politically and economically isolated countries, is already fighting several armed rebel groups and incursions into its territory by Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army insurgents.


Reporting by Paul-Marin Ngoupana

The LRA recently popped up in eastern DRC and killed or kidnapped about 350 villagers. Nasty bastards and nobody to fool around with.

Kathi, thanks for using this forum to keep us informed. I've hunted CAR and been chased by AK-firing illegals along the Aouk River. I've been through the sea of humanity sweating and pushing their way past each other at the Bangui airport. What a benighted country!

Circulating all around the north you have the invaders from Chad and Sudan. Some of them are rebels. Some of them are army units looking to destabilize the CAR government. The French have sent mirage jets in to bomb them, but there is no way to stop the flow. The biggest illegal import from these groups is arms. Then you have the hoards of nomads who are CAR citizens who have been displaced from their homes and villages. You have rogue CAR army units who terrorize and extort the vilagers. The typical technique is to take hostage children until the relatives pay ransom, forcing the family into destitution. Then you have all the illegal herdsmen who come into the country to devastate the forests with their cattle, rather than endure arid conditions up north. When I was hunting we ran into more poachers than game. There is such economic and political instability that you need to be with a respected outfitter if you go there. Bill

I was in CAR in April. Lots of sneaky bad guys there that should not be. The area I was in had both meat poachers and diamond poachers . Elephants in the area had been hammered with old skulls scattered in the bush, bulls, cows, anything with ivory. Bad place to be in the wrong place.