# Central African Republic signs peace deal with rebels



## emptystep (Jan 12, 2013)

Central African Republic signs peace deal with rebels - Yahoo! News


> LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Central African Republic's government and rebels agreed on Friday to the formation of a national unity government under a ceasefire deal to end an insurgency that swept to within striking distance of the capital.
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> The agreement, signed in Gabon's coastal capital Libreville after three days of talks mediated by regional neighbors, averted the biggest threat to President Francois Bozize's decade in charge of the mineral-rich former French colony.
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## LAfrique (Feb 7, 2013)

emptystep said:


> Central African Republic signs peace deal with rebels - Yahoo! News
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> > LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Central African Republic's government and rebels agreed on Friday to the formation of a national unity government under a ceasefire deal to end an insurgency that swept to within striking distance of the capital.
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*Any move towards peace is a good thing!* Wish them the very best! #Africa


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## Saigon (Feb 8, 2013)

The problem in CAR is corruption, though. I've never gone there and don't intend to. They need a generation of good government now to stabilise the country and move towards genuine governanance. 

For anyone interested, there is a wonderful Danish satirical documentary where he buys himself the position of the Liberian ambasador to CAR. It is funny - and disturbing.


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## waltky (Mar 24, 2013)

Bozize ousted in coup...

*C. African Republic president overthrown by rebels*
_24 Mar.`13   Rebels overthrew Central African Republic's president of a decade on Sunday, seizing the presidential palace and declaring that the desperately poor country has "opened a new page in its history." The country's president fled the capital, while extra French troops moved to secure the airport, officials said._


> The rebels' invasion of the capital came just two months after they had signed a peace agreement that would have let President Francois Bozize serve until 2016. That deal unraveled in recent days, prompting the insurgents' advance into Bangui and Bozize's departure to a still unpublicized location.  Witnesses and an adviser to Bozize said rebel trucks were traveling throughout the town on Sunday hours after the palace was seized. Former colonial power France confirmed the developments, issuing a statement that said French President Francois Hollande "has taken note of the departure of President Francois Bozize."  "Central African Republic has just opened a new page in its history," said a communique signed by Justin Kombo Moustapha, secretary-general of the alliance of rebel groups known as Seleka.  "The political committee of the Seleka coalition, made up of Central Africans of all kinds, calls on the population to remain calm and to prepare to welcome the revolutionary forces of Seleka," it said.
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## waltky (Mar 25, 2013)

Rebels can't agree who's gonna be top dog...

*Split appears in C. African rebel coalition*
_25 Mar.`13  &#8212; A split in the leadership of the Central African Republic rebel coalition emerged Monday, only two days after the insurgents seized the capital of this impoverished nation and chased out the president._


> One of the rebel leaders, Michel Djotodia, declared himself president Monday, saying he considers himself to be the new head of state.  But another rebel leader told reporters his group does not recognize Michel Djotodia as president, and says they will challenge his attempt to install himself at the helm.  Djotodia was asked by a French radio station if they should address him as Mr. President? He answered in an interview broadcast by RFI radio on Monday: "I can consider myself to be, at this moment, the head of state."
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> Asked how long he would stay in power, Djotodia suggested that he would stay as long as three years, the time remaining in the unfinished term of President Francois Bozize, who fled the capital over the weekend and whose whereabouts are now unknown.  "We've just barely started, and you are asking me how long I plan to stay in power? (laughs) I can't say because you know full well that we need time to bring back peace. There is insecurity ... It was said in Libreville that we should respect the three year timeline for organizing free and transparent elections. We won't stay any longer," he told RFI.
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See also:

*CAR Leader Flees; Rebel Chief Declares Self President*
_ March 25, 2013 - The ousted president of the Central African Republic has fled to Cameroon, as rebels who overthrew him named a new head of state and pledged to hold elections within three years._


> Officials in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, confirmed that CAR President Francois Bozize arrived there after fleeing the fighting that left 13 South African soldiers dead.  Michel Djotodia, the head of the Seleka rebel coalition, named himself the new CAR leader and says elections will take place within three years. Civilian opposition leader Nicolas Tiangaye will retain the prime minister's post he was given in a January power sharing deal.  Residents in the capital, Bangui, say there is widespread looting in the city by both rebels and civilians. Residents have also been without power or running water for several days.  The United Nations says it is evacuating all its non-essential workers from the city.
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## waltky (Mar 26, 2013)

New boss worse than the old boss...

*Strongman will rule by decree*
_Wed, Mar 27, 2013 - MEAN STREETS: Rebels in the Central African Republic were initially welcomed with palm leaves, but the mood darkened in the capital, Bangui, after an outbreak of looting_


> Central African Republic strongman Michel Djotodia was facing international isolation yesterday after dissolving the country&#8217;s institutions and announcing he would rule by decree after the weekend coup.  The former diplomat turned rebel leader, whose Seleka coalition took over the capital, Bangui, in a rapid-fire weekend assault, announced late on Monday that he would rule by decree until elections are organized in three years.  Earlier on Monday, the African Union suspended the coup-prone landlocked nation from its membership and the EU condemned the coup as &#8220;unacceptable.&#8221;  The 15-member UN Security Council emerged from an emergency meeting on the crisis called by former colonial power France to condemn the coup.
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> However, while it threatened &#8220;further measures,&#8221; it made no explicit threat of sanctions.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had already condemned Seleka&#8217;s power grab and called for &#8220;the swift restoration of constitutional order.&#8221;  Djotodia announced the suspension of the constitution, as well as the dissolution of parliament and the government late on Monday in Bangui.  &#8220;During that transition period which will lead us to free, credible and transparent elections, I will legislate by decree,&#8221; he told reporters.  Earlier on Monday, in an interview with Radio France Internationale, Djotodia made it clear he would not rule out running in polls he promised for 2016.
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See also:

*Bozize Falls and Zuma Fails in the CAR*
_26 March 2013 - Analysis_


> One of the tangential aspects of the deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic is the controversial role of South African Defence Forces (SADF). Sent in via a 2007 bilateral agreement between Presidents Bozize and Zuma, the SADF forces (originally called trainers in some reports and peacekeepers in others) suffered up to a dozen casualties over the weekend, making it the greatest loss of South African soldiery since the end of apartheid. "This is tremendously damaging for South Africa and the reputation of what was perceived as one of the major military powers in Africa," said Alex Vines, an analyst at the Chatham House think-tank in London, speaking to Reuters.
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> Reports out of South Africa, however, describe the 200 SADF soldiers as paratroopers and Special Forces, not trainers. Their engagement over the weekend with over 1000 rebel troops advancing on the city apparently proved too much for them; it is now unclear what will happen. According to an unconfirmed UN source in Bangui (as reported by Reuters) SADF had asked the French for assistance in leaving the country. Additionally, the rumour mill in South Africa has it that the soldiers were never really there to protect Bozize as their primary mission, but rather to safeguard South African mining interests and to counter French influence in the region. If that is the case then the irony of asking the French for help to depart will certainly not be lost on the critics.
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## Saigon (Mar 28, 2013)

Yes, the new boss will no doubt be dreadful. The CAR has never had good government, and isn't about to now. It really has failed state written all over it.


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## waltky (Mar 28, 2013)

Djotodia solidifying his position...

*CAR Army Chiefs Pledge Allegiance to Coup Leader*
_ March 28, 2013 &#8212; Central African Republic's army chiefs pledged allegiance to the country's self-proclaimed president Michel Djotodia on Thursday as the ex-rebel leader consolidated control four days after his fighters seized the capital._


> Djotodia seized control of the resource-rich nation after thousands of his rebel fighters swept into the riverside capital Bangui on Sunday, ousting President Francois Bozize and triggering days of looting.  Seleka rebel leader Michel Djotodia.Seleka rebel leader Michel Djotodia.  &#8203;&#8203;"The former FACA [national army] officers wanted to meet with President Djotodia to tell him they recognize him as the new president,'' said Maurice Ntossui, a commander of the African peacekeeping force in the country who attended the meeting.  "All the former chiefs of police, gendarmes, the head of the armed forces and other senior officers came to the meeting. This was a form of surrender,'' he said.  At least 13 South African soldiers, among hundreds deployed to reinforce Bozize's army, were killed in the rebel onslaught in the worst military setback for Pretoria since the end of apartheid in 1994 and one which put a dent in any ambitions it has of becoming a continental superpower.
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See also:

*Central African Integration Better on Paper Than Practice*
_ March 28, 2013 &#8212; It has been more than 20 years since heads of state created the six-nation Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, CEMAC, to foster regional integration among members with a common currency.  Legally, tariffs have been eliminated, but in practice there has been no progress on realizing a free trade bloc.  The movement of goods and people on the border where Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon all converge is as controlled as ever._


> The town of Kiossi in Cameroon is on the main access road to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Residents along the border say they are frustrated by not being able to travel and trade freely - despite a two-decades-old political agreement to implement a Central African free trade zone.  "The so-called regional integration in Central Africa to me is just existing on paper because I can't drive freely to Gabon, Central Africa or Equatorial Guinea," complains business man Ngah Christian, 33.  "We can not be talking about regional integration when we have Cameroonians who are being expelled from Equatorial Guinea or are attacked."
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## waltky (Mar 29, 2013)

Granny says, "Dat's right - All former bribery deals off, gonna have to bribe the new guy now...

*CAR's Djotodia to Review Minerals Deals*
_ March 29, 2013  Central African Republic's new President Michel Djotodia, who seized power last week, said on Friday he would review resource deals signed by the previous government and promised to step down at elections in 2016._


> Djotodia, a former civil servant turned rebel leader, said he would seek aid from former colonial power France and the United States to retrain the ill-disciplined army, which was easily overrun by fighters from his Seleka rebel coalition.  Paris and Washington have called for the rebels to respect a power-sharing deal signed in the Gabonese capital Libreville in January which mapped out a transition to elections in 2016 at which then-President Francois Bozize was forbidden from running.  "We are going to act according to the spirit of the Libreville agreements," Djotodia told his first news conference since seizing power. "Anyone currently in power supporting our takeover will not contest the next presidential elections, myself included."
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> The rebel takeover has been strongly condemned internationally. The African Union suspended Central African Republic's membership and imposed sanctions on Seleka leaders, including Djotodia.  In a bid to tap the country's under-exploited mineral wealthy, Bozize had awarded China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) rights to explore for oil at Boromata, in the country's northeast near the border with Chad.
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## waltky (Oct 18, 2017)

Central African Republic Continues to Deteriorate...




*UN: Conditions in Central African Republic Continue to Deteriorate*
_October 17, 2017  — The United Nations reports conditions in Central African Republic have continued to deteriorate since a serious outbreak of inter-communal violence in mid-May between the Muslim Seleka and largely Christian anti-Balaka armed groups._


> Fighting in some parts of Central African Republic has become so intense that United Nations and private aid agencies have had to suspend their activities. The U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the C.A.R., Najat Rochdi, says security has become so bad in the East, agencies have had to change their mode of operations.  "We cannot do it anymore business as usual having bases, you know, here and there, but rather strengthening some hubs actually, around a number of cities where the security is much more important and from there fly in special emergency teams, a kind of surge teams," she said.
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> Since January, the United Nations reports a 50 percent increase in the number of internally displaced people to 600,000. Refugee numbers also have increased to nearly one-half million.  Rochdi says humanitarian operations in the country are suffering from severe under-funding. She says only 39 percent of the nearly $500 million appeal for this year has been received. Because of the lack of funding, she says food rations have been cut in half.  "And that there are places where actually we have stopped the food distribution. We already had very serious worsening of the malnutrition situation. For example, unfortunately, in the southeast, we started already seeing children dying from severe malnutrition," said Rochdi.
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See also:

*Many More Refugees Flee CAR Violence to Cameroon*
_October 07, 2017  — U.N. aid agencies are struggling to meet the needs of refugees in eastern Cameroon as multitudes flee the renewed violence in neighboring Central African Republic. The population of the Gado refugee camp has exploded from just 1,000 refugees in January to 25,000 today._


> Scores of children are being attended to by medical staff at the Gado refugee camp on Cameroon's eastern border with the C.A.R. At least a hundred children fleeing with their parents have been received by humanitarian workers this week.  22-year-old Magloire Zema, who arrived at Gado last week, says she is happy her 6-month-old son has recovered his health.  She says he was neither eating nor had access to clean drinkable water, but today the situation is better because he can drink milk and eat a bit of their traditional meals.
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## Vastator (Oct 18, 2017)

waltky said:


> New boss worse than the old boss...
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> *Strongman will rule by decree*
> _Wed, Mar 27, 2013 - MEAN STREETS: Rebels in the Central African Republic were initially welcomed with palm leaves, but the mood darkened in the capital, Bangui, after an outbreak of looting_
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Negros require a firm hand in order to stay on track,  and achieve any productivity.  Every attempt by Negros,  to shoehorn themselves in to the mold of Western Civilization,  has been an abysmal failure.  This "nation" may actually stand a chance, if it can play to the inherent strengths of the native population. Rather than attempt to emulate a completely alien form of rule...


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