MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th October, 2018) The Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told Sputnik on Sunday that media reports suggesting that Muslim armed group Seleka involved in the armed conflict with the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) had allegedly demanded the withdrawal of government troops and the Russian military advisers from the areas controlled by its militants, were not true.
Earlier in the day, media reported that Seleka had given the car government an ultimatum to withdraw all its forces and the Russian military from the territories controlled by the group within 48 hours.
"It is strange that no one rechecked the information before publishing it," Zakharova said adding that the media had fallen "victims to fake news."
On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Moscow's plans to send 60 additional military advisers to the CAR in addition to 175 advisers deployed to the country earlier this year.
The Central African Republic has been destabilized by a violent conflict between Christian anti-Balaka militia, Seleka faction and the government since 2012. Since 2014, the country has been divided between the three groups. In late August, Seleka and anti-Balaka militia signed a Declaration of Understanding after a Russia-brokered peace meeting in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.�
