Yearbook 2007
Central African Republic. According to
CountryAAH, stepping steps were taken
during the year towards creating peace in the country's
north-eastern areas, which have long been plagued by
violence from both rebel forces and the government army. In
February, the government signed a peace agreement with a
rebel movement and in April made peace with another
organization, but no real stability was achieved. The UN
Security Council approved in September that the EU sends a
military force of 3,000 men to the Central African Republic
and neighboring Chad, primarily to try to block the border
with the Darfur region in Sudan, from where the violence has
spread. 300 UN troops are to complement the EU force. Sweden
announced a grant of 200 soldiers to Chad.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague
announced in May that it will investigate suspected war
crimes in the Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003. The
investigation of mainly alleged rapes applies to the period
following a failed coup attempt against the then government.
The violence continued towards the end of December and
the beginning of January, when anti-Balaka gained control of
Bangui and assassinated the remaining Muslims, while the
French special forces looked passively. On January 9, 2014,
Djotodia traveled to the CEEAC Central African Common Market
Summit in Chad. Here he was subjected to great pressure by
the other presidents to withdraw from the post, and on the
10th he resigned and went into exile in Benin. After just
under two weeks of debate, the National Transitional Council
(CNT) on January 23 agreed to appoint Catherine Samba-Panza
as acting president. She had been mayor of Bangui since June
2013 and was not affiliated with any of the warring parties.
She appointed André Nzapayeké as its prime minister. She
then invited the two warring parties - Séléka and
anti-Balaka - to negotiate,
On February 7, 2014, the ICC Chief Prosecutor announced
that the organization had opened a preliminary investigation
into the situation in the country since September 2012. In a
September 2014 report, the organization announced that there
was sufficient evidence to investigate crimes committed
within the Rome Statute in order to travel case against the
guilty.
On May 28, Christian militiamen threw hand grenades at a
mosque in Bangui before entering and firing with automatic
weapons. 11 were killed.
In July, the government, Séléka and anti-Balaka signed a
ceasefire agreement in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. A few
weeks later, President Samba-Panza replaced his prime
minister with Mahamat Kamoun - the country's first Muslim
prime minister. However, the exchange was not agreed between
the parties, and although it was supposed to express
goodwill to the country's Muslim population, it was
condemned by Séléka as Kamoun was not associated with them.
They therefore withdrew from the national unity government
and threatened to terminate the ceasefire agreement. This
agreement was already difficult to comply with in the
Central African Republic, where there were many clashes.
In September, the United Nations Multidimensional
Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African
Republic (MINUSCA) took over responsibility from the AU for
the peace mission in the country. The deployment of the UN
peacekeeping force created hope, but as early as October the
violence escalated in Bangui, dozens of civilians were
killed and thousands fled and several villages burned down.
By the end of 2014, 415,000 Muslims had fled the country
from the anti-Balaka attacks. Most to Cameroon. About 10,500
Muslims were camped in the western part of the country under
the protection of the UN peacekeeping mission. International
human rights organizations sharply criticized these camps
and the role of the UN. The refugees were allowed to travel
out of the country to seek protection, but this was hindered
by the government and by UN forces. In April, the UN had
evacuated another camp and escorted the refugees out of the
country, but the convoy had been attacked by anti-Balaka and
several refugees killed. At the same time, the government
made it clear that under no circumstances would it accept
refugees being escorted out of the country. The evacuations
were then canceled.
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