The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) has accused former President Francois Bozize of an attempted coup ahead of the country’s upcoming December 27 presidential and legislative elections. The allegations come after three main rebel groups announced a joint coalition with a threat to march through the capital of Bangui.
Sharing its concerns with the public, the government said ex-president Bozize was currently near the city of Bossembele, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Bangui, and intended to march on the capital with his men. “This is clearly an attempted coup d’etat that the government denounces during this electoral period,” said government spokesman Ange-Maxime Kaagui.
In 2013, the CAR witnessed a serious conflict catalysed by the exit of Bozize who was overthrown as president by the Seleka, a rebel coalition mainly consisting of the Muslim minority. France eventually had to intervene in its former colony, coordinating a transitional period before elections in 2016 brought in President Faustin-Archange Touadera.
Banned From Running Again
Bozize, who recently returned to the country after several years in exile, was barred from contesting in the upcoming elections after he declared his interest in the top seat. His ban was approved by the country’s top court on the basis that he had been sought in an international arrest warrant filed by the country on charges which included murder, arbitrary arrests, and torture.
“Why take up arms against your countrymen?” President Faustin-Archange Touadera asked at a rally while addressing the coup rumours, adding that “the national election authority and Constitutional Court have guaranteed that the elections will be held as scheduled.”
An Unlikely Partnership
Meanwhile, leaders of three main armed rebel groups in the country have announced a coalition ahead of the polls, increasing already high tensions.
The armed groups decided “to combine all of our movements into a single entity, called the Coalition of Patriots for Change or CPC, under a unified command,” they announced in the statement.
The CPC invited all other armed groups to join, as they urged their members to “scrupulously respect the integrity of the civilian population” and to allow vehicles belonging to the United Nations and to humanitarian groups to circulate freely.
