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Forces armées centrafricaines (FACA) is a rather weak institution, dependent on international support to hold back the enemies in the current civil war. Its disloyalty to the president came to the fore during the mutinies in 1996-1997, but ever since then it has faced internal problems. It has been strongly criticised by human rights organisations due to its terror, including killings, torture and Sexual violence. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOVD Articles that have been linked to this page are the subject of an NPOV dispute (NPOV stands for Neutral Point Of View; see below). ... A nations army is its military, or more specifically, all of its land forces. ... An air force, in some countries called an air army, is a military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. ... A gendarmerie or gendarmery (pronounced ) is a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations. ... Bangui is the capital of and the largest city in the Central African Republic. ... François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born October 14, 1946) is the current President of the Central African Republic. ... Combatants UFDR rebels GAPLC MLCJ FDC Central African Republic Commanders Michel Detodia (UFDR,[1] GAPLC[2] Abakar Saboune (MLCJ)[2] Justin Hassane (FDC)[2] Francois Bozize Strength 150+ 4,500+ Casualties 3+ 20+ The Central African Republic Civil War began with the rebellion by the Union of Democratic Forces for... Terrorist redirects here. ... Look up Killing on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Killing is a family name and the name of several things. ... Torture is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture as any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he... Sexual assault is any physical contact of a sexual nature without voluntary consent. ...

History

Role of military in domestic politics

The military has played an important role in the history of Central African Republic. The current president, General François Bozizé is a former army chief-of-staff and his government includes several high-level military officers. Among the country’s five presidents since independence in 1960, three have been former army chiefs-of-staff, who have taken power through coups d’état. No president with military background has however been succeeded by a new military president. François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born October 14, 1946) is the current President of the Central African Republic. ...

The country’s first president, David Dacko was overthrown by his army chief-of-staff, Jean-Bédel Bokassa in 1966. Following Bokassa, David Dacko was restored in 1981, only to be overthrown once again by his new army chief of staff, General André Kolingba after only a few months in power. Image:DavidDacko. ... Emperor Bokassa I, also known as Salah Eddine Ahmed Bokassa and Jean-Bédel Bokassa (IPA: , (February 22, 1921–November 3, 1996), was the military ruler of the Central African Republic from January 1, 1966 and the emperor of the Central African Empire from December 4, 1976, until his overthrow... André Diuedonne Kolingba (born August 12, 1935) was president of the Central African Republic from 1981 to 1993. ...

In 1993, Ange-Félix Patassé became the first elected president of the country. He became soon impopular within the army, resulting in violent mutinies in 1996-1997. In May 2001, there was an unsuccessful coup attempt by Kolingba and once again Patassé had to turn to friends abroad for support, this time Libya and DR Congo were helpful. Some months later, in the end of October, Patassé sacked his army chief-of-staff, François Bozizé, and tried to arrest him. Bozizé then fled to Chad and gathered a group of rebellions. In 2002, he seized Bangui for a short period. In March 2003 Bozizé took power through a coup d’état .^[1]. Patassé with Bozizé in the background Ange-Félix Patassé (born January 25, 1937) was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé. Patassé was born in Paoua. ... Bangui is the capital of and the largest city in the Central African Republic. ...

Importance of ethnicity

When General Kolingba became president in 1981, he implemented an ethnicity-based recruitment policy for the administration. Kolingba was a member of the Yakoma tribe from the south of the country, which made up approximately 5% of the total population. During his rule, members of Yakoma were granted all key positions in the administration and made up a majority of the military. This later had disastrous consequences, when Kolingba was replaced by a member of a northerner tribe, Ange-Félix Patassé.

Army mutinies of 1996 -1997

Soon after the election 1993, Patassé became unpopular within the army, not least because of his inability to pay their wages (partly due to economic mismanagement and partly because France suddenly ended its economic support for the soldiers’ wages). Another reason for the irritation was that most of FACA consisted of soldiers from Kolingba’s ethnic group, the Yakoma. During Patassé’s rule they were becoming increasingly marginalised, while Patassé created militias favouring his own Gbaya tribe, as well as neighbouring Sara and Kaba. This resulted in army mutinies in 1996-1997, where fractions of the military clashed with the presidential guard, the Unité de sécurité présidentielle (USP) and militias loyal to Patassé.^[2].

• On April 18, 1996, there was a first mutiny of 200-300 soldiers who claimed that they had not received their wage since 1992-1993. The confrontations between the soldiers and the presidential guard resulted in 9 dead and 40 wounded. French forces were supporting (Operation Almandin I) and acted negotiators. The unrest ends when the soldiers finally are paid their wages by France and the President agrees not to start legal proceedings against the soldiers.

• On May 18, 1996, a second mutiny was led by 500 soldiers who refused to be disarmed and denounced the agreement reached in April. The French forces were once again called to Bangui (Operation Almadin II), supported by military from Chad and Gabon. 3,500 foreigners are evacuated during the unrest, which killed 43 persons and wounded 238.

• On May 26, a peace agreement was signed between France and the mutineers. The latter are promised amnesty, allowed to retain their weapons. Their security was ensured by the French military.

• On November 15, 1996, there was a third mutiny and 1,500 French soldiers were flying in to ensure the safety of the foreigners. The mutineers demanded the discharge of the president.

On 6 December, a negotiation process started, facilitated by Gabon, Burkina-Faso, Chad and Mali. The military – supported by the opposition parties – keeps claiming that Patassé has to resign. In January, 1997, however, the Bangui Agreements were signed and the French EFAO troop was replaced by the 1,350 soldiers of the Mission interafricaine de surveillance des Accords de Bangui (MISAB). In March, all mutineers were granted amnesty. The fighting between MISAB and the mutineers continued with a large offensive in June, resulting in up to 200 casualties. After this final clash, the mutineers stayed calm. ^[2] Motto Unité, Progrès, Justice(French) Unity, Progress, Justice Anthem Une Seule Nuit(French) One Single Night Capital (and largest city) Ouagadougou Official languages French Government Semi-presidential republic  -  President Blaise Compaoré  -  Prime Minister Tertius Zongo Independence from France   -  Date August 5, 1960  Area  -  Total 274,000 km² (74th) 105...

After the mutinies, President Patassé suffered from a typical “dictator’s paranoia”, resulting in a period of cruel terror executed by the presidential guard and various militia within the FACA loyal to the president, such as the Karako. It was directed against the Yakoma tribe , of which it is estimated that 20,000 persons fled during this period. But the oppression also targeted other parts of the society. The president accused his former ally France of supporting his enemies and seeks new international ties. When he strengthened his presidential guard (creating the FORSIDIR, see below), he is granted 300 additional soldiers from Libya for his own personal safety. When former President Kolingba attempted a coup d’état in 2001 (which was, according to Patassé, supported by France), the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba in DR Congo came to his rescue.^[3] The Movement for the Liberation of Congo (French: Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo) is a political party in Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Jean-Pierre Bemba (4 November 1962) is one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ...

Crimes conducted by Patassé’s militias and Congolese soldiers during this period are now being investigated by the International Criminal Court. It says that “Sexual violence appears to have been a central feature of the conflict”, having identified more than 600 rape victims.^[4] Official logo of the ICC. The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, crime of aggression, and war crimes, as defined by several international agreements, most prominently the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. ...

Present situation

The FACA has been dominated by soldiers from the Yakoma ethnic group since the time of Kolingba. It has hence been considered disloyal by the two northerner presidents Patassé and Bozizé, both of whom have equipped and run their own militias outside FACA. The military also proved its disloyalty during the mutinies in 1996-1997. Although Francois Bozizé has a background in FACA himself (being its chief-of-staff from 1997 to 2001), he has been cautious by retaining the defence portfolio, as well as by appointing his son Jean-Francis Bozizé cabinet director in charge of running the Ministry of Defence. He kept his old friend General Antoine Gambi as Chief of Staff. Due to failure to curb deepening unrest in the northern part of the country, Gambi was in July 2006 replaced with Bozizé’s old friend from the military academy, Jules Bernard Ouandé. ^[5]

Military’s relations with the society

The forces assisting Bozizé in seizing the power in 2003 were not paid what they were promised and started looting, terrorising and killing ordinary citizens. Summary executions have taken place with the implicit approval of the government. The situation has deteriorated since early 2006 and the regular army and the presidential guard regularly execute exertion, torture, killings and other human rights violations. There is no possibility for the national judicial system to investigate these cases. At the end of 2006, there were an estimated 150,000 internally displaced people. During a UN mission in the northern part of the country in November 2006, the mission had a meeting with a prefect who said that he could not maintain law and order over the military and the presidential guards. The FACA conducts summary executions and burn houses. Only on the route between Kaga-Bandoro and Ouandago, some 2,000 houses have been burnt, leaving an estimated 10,000 persons homeless.^[6] Kaga-Bandoro is a market town in the northern Central African Republic, lying near the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park. ...

Reform of the army

Both the Multinational Force in the Central African Republic (FOMUC) and France are assisting in the current reform of the army. One of the key priorities of the reform of the military is make it more ethnically diversified. It should also integrate Bozizé’s own rebel group (mainly consisting of members of his own Gbaya tribe). Many of the Yakoma soldiers who left the country after the mutinies in 1996-1997 have now returned and must also be reintegrated into the army. At the same time, BONUCA holds seminars in topics such as the relationship between military and civil parts of society. ^[7]

Foreign military presence in support of the Government

Peacekeeping and peace enforcing forces

Since the mutinies, a number of peacekeeping and peace enforcing international missions have been present in Central African Republic. There has been a discussion of the deployment of a regional United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in both Chad and Central African Republic. But it is considered to shore up the ineffectual Darfur Peace Agreement. The missions deployed in the country during the last 10 years are the following:^[8] It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Peace enforcement is a practice of ensuring peace in an area or region. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...

Headquarters Tripoli, Libya Official language]]s English, French, Arabic and Portuguese Type Trade bloc Membership 25 member states Leaders  -  Secretary General Mohamed Al-Madani Al-Azhari Establishment  -  Signed 4 February 1998  Website http://www. ... States of CEMAC The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (or CEMAC from its name in French, Communauté Économique et Monétaire de lAfrique Centrale) is an organization of states of Central Africa established to promote economic integration among countries that share a common currency, the CFA franc. ...

Chad

In addition to the multilateral forces, there have been bilateral support from other African countries, such as the Libyan and Congolese support to Patassé, mentioned above. Bozizé is in many ways dependent on Chad support. Chad has an interest in CAR, since it needs to ensure calmness close to its oil fields and the pipeline leading to the Cameroonian coast, close to the troubled northwest CAR. Before seizing power, Bozizé built up his rebel force in Chad, trained and augmented by the Chadian. President Déby assisted him actively in taking the power in March 2003 (his rebel forces included 100 Chadian soldiers). After the coup, another 400 soldiers were sent. Current direct support includes the 150 non-FOMUC Chadian troops that patrol the border area near Goré, the Chadian soldiers patrolling Bangui, but most of all the Chadian soldiers within the presidential lifeguard.^[8] The CEMAC Force includes 121 Chadian soldiers. The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project is a controversial project to develop the production capacity of oilfields near Doba in southern Chad, and to create a 1,070km pipeline to transport the oil to facilities on the coast of Cameroon. ... Lieutenant General Idriss Déby Itno (born in Fada in 1952) is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. ...

France

There has been an almost uninterrupted French military presence in Central African Republic since independence, regulated through agreements between the two Governments. The French troops were allowed to be based in the country and to intervene in cases of destabilisation. This was particularly important during the cold war era, when francophone Africa was regarded as a natural French sphere of influence.

Additionally, the strategic location of the country made it a more interesting location for military bases than its neighbours and Bouar and Bangui were hence two of the most important French bases abroad. Bouar is a market town in the western Central African Republic, lying on the main road from Bangui to Cameroon. ...

However, in 1997, following Lionel Jospin’s expression “Neither interference nor indifference”, France came to adopt new strategic principles for its presence in Africa. This included a reduced permanent presence on the continent and an increased support to multilateral interventions.^[9] In Central African Republic, the Bouar base and the Béal Camp (at that time home to 1,400 French soldiers) in Bangui were shut down, as the French concentrated its African presence to Abidjan, Dakar, Djibouti, Libreville and N’Djamena and the deployment of a Force d’action rapide, based in France.^[10] Lionel Robert Jospin (born July 12, 1937 in Meudon, a suburb of Paris) is a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997-2002. ... Freeway along the Ébrié Lagoon near the Plateau, Abidjans business district and centre of the city. ... (City of Dakar, divided into 19 communes darrondissement) City proper (commune) Région Dakar Département Dakar Mayor Pape Diop (PDS) (since 2002) Area 82. ... Libreville (population 578,156 January 1, 2005) is the capital and largest city of Gabon. ... NDjamena, «ehn JAHM uh nuh», population 721,000 (2005), is the capital of Chad. ...

However, due to the situation in the country, France has retained a military presence. During the mutinies, 2,400 French soldiers were patrolling the streets of Bangui. Their official task was to evacuate foreign citizens, but this did not prevent direct confrontations with the mutineers (resulting in French and mutineer casualties). The level of French involvement resulted in protests among the Central African population, since many took party for the mutineers and accused France of defending a dictator against the people’s will. Voices were also heard in France where some blamed France for its protection of a discredited ruler, totally incapable of exerting power and managing the country.^[11] After the mutinies in 1997, the MISAB was a multilateral force, but it was armed, equipped, trained and managed by France. The Chadian, Gabonese and Congolese soldiers of the current Force multinationale en Centrafrique (FOMUC) mission in the country also enjoys logistical support from French soldiers. Motto Unité, Travail, Progrès(French) Unity, Work, Progress Anthem La Congolaise Capital (and largest city) Brazzaville Official languages French Government Republic  -  President Denis Sassou Nguesso  -  Prime Minister Isidore Mvouba Independence from France   -  Date 15 August 1960  Area  -  Total 342,000 km² (64th) 132,047 sq mi   -  Water (%) 3. ...

A study carried out by the US Congressional Research Service reveals however that France has again increased its arms sales to Africa and during the 1998-2005 period, France was the leading supplier of arms to the continent.^[12]

Components and units

Air Force

The Air Force is almost inoperable. Mirage F1 planes from the French Air Force regularly patrol troubled regions of the country and also participate in direct confrontations.^[13] According to some sources, Bozizé used the money he got from the mining concession in Bakouma to buy two old MI 8 helicopters from Ukraine and one Hercules C 130, built in the 1950s, from USA. ^[14] The air force operates otherwise 7 light aircraft, including a single helicopter: An air force, in some countries called an air army, is a military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. ... The Dassault Mirage F1 is a single-seat air-superiority fighter and attack aircraft built by Dassault Aviation of France. ... Bakouma is a sub-prefecture in the prefecture of Mbomou in Central African Republic. ... The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. ...

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[15]	Notes
Aermacchi AL-60	Italy	utility	AL-60C-5 Conestoga	6
Eurocopter Ecureuil	France	utility helicopter	AS 350B	1

The AL-60 was a light civil utility aircraft originally designed by United States but which never went into production in that country. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... The Eurocopter Ecureuil (Squirrel) is a single-engine helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

Garde républicaine (GR)

GR consists of so called patriots that fought for Bozizé when he seized power in 2003 (mainly from the gbaya tribe), together with soldiers from Chad. They are guilty of numerous assaults on the civil population, such as terror, aggression, sexual violence. Only a couple of months after Bozizé’s seizure of power, in May 2003, taxi and truck drivers conducted a strike against these outrages.^[2]

New amphibious force

Bozizé has created an amphibious force. It is called the Second Battalion of the Ground Forces and it patrols the Ubangi river. The staff of the sixth region in Bouali (mainly made up of members of the former president’s lifeguard) was transferred to the city of Mongoumba, located on the river. This city had previously been plundered by forces from MLC, that had crossed the border. ^[16] This article is about a military strategy involving land troops dispatched from naval ships. ... The Ubangi River (also Oubangi) is a major tributary of the Congo River in Central Africa. ...

Veteran Soldiers

A program for disarmament and reintegration of veteran soldiers is currently taking place. A national commission for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration was put in place in September 2004. The commission is in charge of implementing a program wherein approximately 7,500 veteran soldiers will be reintegrated in civil life and obtain education.^[2]

Discontinued groups and units that are no longer part of FACA

• FORSIDIR: The presidential lifeguard, Unité de sécurité présidentielle (USP), was in March 1998 transformed to the Force spéciale de défense des institutions républicaines (FORSDIR). In contrary to the army – which consisted mainly of southerner Yakoma members and which thereby was unreliable for the northerner president – this unit consisted of northerners loyal to the president. Before eventually being dissolved in January 2,000, this highly controversial group became feared for their terror and troubled Patassé’s relation with important international partners, such as France. Of its 1,400 staff, 800 were subsequently reintegrated into FACA, under the command of the chief-of-staff. The remaining 400 recreated the USP (once again under the command of the chief-of-staff) ^[2].

• Unité de sécurité présidentielle (USP): USP was Patassé’s presidential guard before and after FORSIDIR. When he was overthrown by Bozizé in 2003, the USP was dissolved and while some of the soldiers have been absorbed by FACA, others are believed to have joined the pro-Patassé rebel group FDPC that is fighting FACA in the north of the country.^[2]

• The Patriots or Liberators: Accompanied Bozizé when he seized power in March 2003. They are now a part of Bozizé’s lifeguard, the Garde républicaine, together with soldiers from Chad^[2].

• Office central de répression du banditisme (OCRB): OCRB was a special unit within the police created to fight the looting after the army mutinies in 1996 and 1997. OCRB was guilty of numerous summary executions and arbitrary detentions, for which it has never been put on trial^[2].

• MLPC Militia: Le Mouvement de libération du peuple centrafricain (MLPC) was the former president, Patassé’s political party. Its militia was active already during the 1993 election, but was strengthened during the mutinies 1996 and 1997, particularly through its Karako militia. Its core consisted of Sara people from Chad and Central African Republic but during the mutinies it recruited many young people in Bangui^[2].

• DRC Militia: Rassemblement démocratique centrafricain (RDC) is the party of General Kolingba who was president during the 1980s. Its militia is said to have camps in Mobaye and have bonds to former officials of Kolingba’s “cousin” Mobutu Sese Seko in DR Congo^[2].

Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga (October 14, 1930 – September 7, 1997), known commonly as Mobutu, or Mobutu Sese Seko, born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) for 32 years (1965–1997), in which he rose to power...

References

Aviation Week & Space Technology (often abbreviated as Aviation Week or AW&ST) is a weekly magazine. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

External links

• CIA World Factbook
• US Department of State - Bureau of African Affairs: Background note

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2004 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain. This is an alphabetical list of the sovereign states of the world, including both de jure and de facto independent states. ... // Military branches: Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, Peoples Militia Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,688,072 (2002 est. ... Military branches: Army, Coast Guard Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 92,486 (2002 est. ... The military of the Democratic Republic of Congo is currently in the rebuilding process after the Second Congo War officially ended in July 2003. ... The 17,000-man Ivorian Armed Forces (FANCI) include an army, navy, air force, and gendarmerie. ... The military of Equatorial Guinea was reorganized in 1979. ... The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro) is a Sahrawi rebel movement working for the separation... The island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of West Africa maintains a very small military, consisting of four branches: the Army, the Coast Guard, the Presidential Guard, and the National Guard. ... Military branches:Army (RSLAF) Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,228,664 (2003 est. ... Military branches: South African National Defence Force or SANDF (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Medical Service), South African Police Service (SAPS) Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 11,924,500 (2004 est. ... A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State. ... Types of administrative and/or political territories include: A legally administered territory, which is a non-sovereign geographic area that has come under the authority of another government. ... Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the UK See also : Saint Helena Refer to Saint Helena Article. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Western Sahara (EH in ISO 3166-1) is a region of northwestern Africa, bordering Morocco on the north, Algeria on the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. ... The World Factbook 2007 (government edtion) cover. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...