ABSTRACT
In March 2013, Séléka, a coalition of armed groups under the command of Michel Djotodia, succeeded in seizing control of the Central African Republic (CAR) and its capital Bangui, thereby toppling the government of President François Bozizé. This rebellion was yet another one in a long list of attempted and successful violent changeovers of power in the country’s post-colonial history. Ten years before, Bozizé himself had become president through a coup d’état against his predecessor, Ange-Félix Patassé. Since January 2014, and after less than 10 months in power, Djotodia is no longer ruling the CAR but has again been replaced first by an interim government under Bangui’s former mayor Catherine Samba-Panza and following the 2016 elections by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra. Séléka has progressively disintegrated. Nevertheless, the 2013 events have plunged the country into one of its deepest crises. Various international missions have been sent into the country, under the leadership of the African Union (AU), France and the European Union (EU), to mitigate a looming humanitarian catastrophe. Since 15 September 2014, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has been deployed under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2149 (UNSC 2014), with an authorized strength of up to 11,820 military and police personnel. However, the CAR remains gripped by widespread insecurity.
