The Wrong Side of History|
The following is an edited extract from the book published by Penguin Random House South Africa titled “The Battle of Bangui: The Inside Story of South Africa’s Worst Military Scandal Since Apartheid” by Warren Thompson, Stephan Hofstatter and James Oatway.
Two days later, on 8 January 2013, peace negotiations got underway in Libreville, the capital of nearby Gabon and birthplace of François Bozizé. While the Seleka rebels had agreed to the negotiations at a summit on 21 December 2012, long before South Africa hatched any plans to send a ‘protection force’, the rebels had not ceased their advance until they reached Damara on 2 January.
The negotiations didn’t last long. In effect, the strongmen of the region – Idriss Déby of Chad and Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville, with some help from Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea
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