Vol 62 No 1 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICRWANDARUSSIA Elections crisis escalates as Russian and Rwandan troops fly in 23rd December 2020 Facing a coalition of rebel militias opposed to his government and the elections, President Touadéra has called for help from Moscow and Kigali, sidelining the UN Presidential and parliamentary elections due on 27 December are in the balance as a coalition of militias tries to oust President Faustin Archange Touadéra, replacing him with ex-P...
Vol 61 No 24 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Pre-election jitters 3rd December 2020 The funeral of Maryse, the late wife of Jean-Serge Bokassa, son of the former Central African Republic 'Emperor' Jean-Bedel Bokassa, witnessed a serious incident which disrupted th...
Vol 61 No 22 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Elections and bust 5th November 2020 The country goes to the polls in December but the organisation of the vote doesn’t promise improved accountability At the end of the year citizens are supposed to cast their votes for a new parliament and a new president. An atmosphere of indifference pervades most circles, but there is excitem...
Vol 61 No 15 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Clash of the leaders 23rd July 2020 Ex-President Bozizé and current President Touadéra seem set on a collision course while elections are in the balance Allegations of fraud, bribery and mobilising for a coup d’état are flying in all directions in Bangui as the political parties and their sponsors consider elections du...
Vol 61 No 12 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Elections or bust 11th June 2020 The president failed in a bid to change the constitution. Now he will have to contest the elections due by December, Covid-19 permitting President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has failed in his effort to change the constitution so that he could stay in office should this year's planned elections fail to take place beca...
Vol 61 No 10 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Ministers and militias 14th May 2020 Far from restoring sanity, the February 2019 Khartoum peace agreement between 14 armed groups has created a new space for bloody competition; they now have access to state resource...
Vol 59 No 24 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Paris clashes with Moscow 7th December 2018 The country is fast becoming a locus for confrontation between Russia and France as the UN mission’s mandate expires Because of Russian disagreement, the mandate of the UN's Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic was not renewed in November. Russia had o...
Vol 59 No 23 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICRUSSIAFRANCE Moscow abhors a vacuum 14th November 2018 France's failures in CAR opened the door to Russia. Now, Paris wants to win back a central role, but the government is hostile and the Kremlin has plans The visit of the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to Bangui at the beginning of November was supposed to signal Paris's decisive re-engagement with its former territory...
Vol 59 No 15 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Fiscal fails and testing talks 27th July 2018 A deceptive lull has descended on Bangui while peace talks are mired in confusion. Meanwhile, chaotic public finances are causing alarm Just two months ago Bangui was on the edge of the abyss as violence escalated and nobody seemed to have a grip on the situation. Now, the city is calm, but there is widespread conc...
Vol 59 No 11 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Solutions scarce as chaos grows 21st May 2018 Neither the President nor the UN forces have a grip on deteriorating security. The killing of a priest in his church illustrates the growing disorder Faustin-Archange Touadéra stepped into the presidency in February 2016 on a wave of goodwill, seemingly ready to face the challenge of national reconciliation. Now, he is booed whe...