Central African Republic In Turmoil Ahead of Elections
The Central African Republic is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary polls on December 27, 2020. But the government is accusing former president François Bozizé Yangouvonda of attempting a coup, and rebel groups are reported to be marching on the capital. The Rwandan government has sent troops to the country, and the CAR government says Russian troops have also arrived.
Bozizé was president from 2003 to 2013. He is listed as having risen in army ranks under Jean-Bedel Bokassa in the 1970s. After Bokassa's ouster, Bozizé served as defence minister from 1979 to 1981 and then as minister of information. Bozizé took part in a failed 1982 coup against president Andre Kolingba, after which he fled the country. Years later, he served as army chief of staff under president Ange-Félix Patassé, and began a rebellion against him in 2001. In March 2003, his forces captured the capital Bangui while Patassé was out of the country. Bozizé ushered in a transitional government, winning the 2005 and 2011 elections in the second and first rounds, respectively. In 2012, rebel forces accused him of not honouring peace agreements made during the CAR bush war in 2007. Bozizé fled to Cameroon via the Democractic Republic of Congo and was sheltered by Cameroon President Paul Biya. On May 29, 2013 an international arrest warrant was filed by the CAR against Bozizé, for murder, arbitrary arrests and torture. In December 2020, the CAR Constitutional Court rejected the former president's request to run in the election, citing the charges brought against him.
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Central African Republic:
UN Recaptures Town From Rebels as Election Looms
DW, 23 December 2020
Attacks in the Central African Republic have called into question elections scheduled for December 27. UN troops have retaken the rebel-held town of Bambari but the situation… Read more »
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Central African Republic:
UN Soldiers and Army Forces Retake Rebel-Held Town
RFI, 23 December 2020
UN peacekeepers and national security forces have retaken the Central African Republic's fourth-largest town a day after it was seized by rebels. Read more »
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Central African Republic:
Russian, Rwandan Troops Deployed After Attempted Coup - Govt
allAfrica, 22 December 2020
The government of the Central African Republic says that Russia and Rwanda sent hundreds of troops into the country after an alleged coup bid that took place ahead of … Read more »
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Central African Republic:
Rebel Violence Threatens Elections
HRW, 23 December 2020
Government, UN Should Protect Civilians; Advance Accountability Read more »
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Central African Republic:
UN Chief Condemns Escalating Violence During Election Campaign
UN News, 20 December 2020
With a week to go until elections are scheduled to take place in the Central African Republic (CAR), the UN is concerned about an escalation of armed attacks, amid reports that… Read more »
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Central African Republic:
Rwanda Deploys Protection Force in Central African Republic Ahead of Polls
New Times, 21 December 2020
The Government of Rwanda has deployed force protection troops to the Central African Republic (CAR), under an existing bilateral agreement on defense in the country. Read more »
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Central African Republic:
Govt Accuses Ex-President Bozize of Coup Plot
DW, 19 December 2020
Rebel militants have threatened to attack the capital of the Central African Republic ahead of the December 27 presidential and legislative elections. The government claims… Read more »
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Central African Republic:
Ex-President, Rebels Connive to Derail CAR Polls
CAJ News, 17 December 2020
ARMED groups, some allegedly working with a former president whose candidature has been invalidated, are threatening the holding of credible elections in the Central African… Read more »
InFocus
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François Bozizé, former president of the Central African Republic (file photo).