#CentralAfricanRepublic (THREAD)

1) 200 to 300 rebels attacked the capital #Bangui today (PK9, PK11, PK12 & Bimbo areas).

Govt, #Russian & #Rwandan troops repelled them. But the rebels remain in the hills & areas surroundings the capital.

Read @CrisisGroup statement 👇

2) The rebels were generally equipped or light weapons (including #AK47 & grenades), several #RPG & probably mortars.

No report of the casualties yet.
3) It's unlikely that they really wanted to size the capital, if not they would have come in bigger number.

They seem to be trying to isolate the capital from the rest of the country that they already control largely & install an attrition warfare just at the capital doors.
4) Its not excluded they may also be trying to play with the psychology of the Constitutional Court which will proclaim the final results of the elections in the coming days.
5) One thing is sure, with the new offensive of the rebellion, including at the capital doors, it becomes more difficult, if not unwise, to organize the second round of the elections for National Assembly.
6) #CAR urgently needs dialogue.

The subregion #ECCAS should enhance its efforts in that direction at the heads of State level & #AfricanUnion should consider #CAR crisis among its first priorities.

Countries like #Cameroon which always play ostrich diplomacy should step up.
7) Big international players such as #Russia & #France should play a political role.

If they dialogue among themselves & combine their efforts, the two countries could have enough leverage to push the key protagonists (#Touadera vs #Bozize & armed groups) to the dialogue table.
8) The alternative to dialogue is only a protracted war with huge possible consequences from each protagonist.

- For #Touadera, a protacted war could poison his second term, force him to become the president of #Bangui & he could even be overthrown at the end.
9) For #Bozize, a protracted war will condemn him and his family to a fugitive life for years, with risks of being militarily defeated, arrested or killed.
10) Finally, there is a risk of civil war. Militia "Les Requins" close to #Touadera arrested & reportedly executed some soldiers and civilians close to #Bozize. Bozize tribesmen Gbaya promised to retaliate if that continues.

This could be a dangerous escalation of the conflict

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A few thoughts on this sad development 👇👇

20 academics criticizing an paper is fine; good science, really

10000+ hate mail for studying schools in Sweden is insane

Anonymous docs/ prof (hiding in faceless accts) on twitter smearing researchers is insane
[thread] https://t.co/QYldLD3WO0


In April 2020, @jflier and I saw this coming

We saw increasingly heated and personal attacks against scientists merely for having a range of views on COVID19 (PS there is no playbook/ right ans)

Tying science to naked politics was also bad idea, we

Yet, repeatedly that is what happened. Twitter 'experts' displayed an absolute intolerance to other views

Folks who disagreed weren't just wrong, they were malicious actors spreading "disinformation"

Really? Someone worked for 25 years as faculty to suddenly spread lies?

Disinformation has been so misused that it has lost meaning.

I recently saw an ID doc & lab researcher in the UK be accused of spreading "disinformation"

hahah, get outta here, you are trying to say "i disagree" but your keyboard is broken

Personal attacks have become so bad that I have seen a lab researcher accuse a doctor of wanting to engage in inappropriate relationships with patients due to diverging views on vaccine messaging

Seriously? It was a low point even for twitter
In 2016,Turkey arrested Abdulkadir Yapcan, a prominent Uighur political activist living in the country since 2001 and initiated his extradition. In 2017, Turkey and China signed an agreement allowing extradition even if the purported offense is only illegal in 1of the 2️⃣countries


Since early 2019, Turkey has arrested hundreds of Uighurs and sent them to deportation centers. And Erdogan’s remarks have turned diplomatically bland, just like any Uighur-related coverage in newspapers controlled by Erdogan and his supporters.

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