According to ezinereligion, in 2007, the Central African Republic had an estimated population of over 4.5 million people, composed of multiple ethnic groups including Banda, Baya and Mandjia. The official language was French but several other languages were also spoken. The economy was largely based on subsistence agriculture as well as exports of diamonds and timber. In terms of foreign relations, the Central African Republic had close ties with its neighbors Cameroon and Chad and maintained diplomatic relations with several other countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Politically, the Central African Republic was a semi-presidential republic led by President François Bozizé since 2003 until his death in 2021. Following his death Faustin-Archange Touadéra became President in 2021 and is still in power today.
Yearbook 2007
Central African Republic. According to CountryAAH, Bangui is the capital city of Central African Republic. 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.
- According to abbreviationfinder: CT is the 2-letter acronym for the country of Central African Republic.
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.