Editing Central African Republic (section)

== History ==
{{main|History of the Central African Republic}}

=== Early history ===
[[File:Bouar Megaliths stamp.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Bouar]] Megaliths, pictured here on a 1967 Central African stamp, date back to the very late Neolithic Era ({{Circa|3500–2700 BCE}}).]]
Approximately 10,000 years ago, [[desertification]] forced [[hunter-gatherer]] societies south into the Sahel regions of northern Central Africa, where some groups settled.<ref name="Eastern Africa 2011, pg. 4">[[#McKenna|McKenna]], p. 4</ref> Farming began as part of the [[Neolithic Revolution]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brierley|first1=Chris|last2=Manning|first2=Katie|last3=Maslin|first3=Mark|date=1 October 2018|title=Pastoralism may have delayed the end of the green Sahara|journal=Nature Communications|volume=9|issue=1|page=4018|doi=10.1038/s41467-018-06321-y|issn=2041-1723|pmc=6167352|pmid=30275473|bibcode=2018NatCo...9.4018B}}</ref> Initial farming of [[Dioscorea rotundata|white yam]] progressed into [[millet]] and [[sorghum]], and before 3000{{Nbsp}}BCE<ref>Fran Osseo-Asare (2005) ''Food Culture in Sub Saharan Africa''. Greenwood. {{ISBN|0313324883}}. p. xxi</ref> the domestication of [[Elaeis guineensis|African oil palm]] improved the groups' nutrition and allowed for expansion of the local populations.<ref>[[#McKenna|McKenna]], p. 5</ref> This agricultural revolution, combined with a "Fish-stew Revolution", in which fishing began to take place and the use of boats, allowed for the transportation of goods. Products were often moved in [[ceramic]] pots.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

The [[Bouar|Bouar Megaliths]] in the western region of the country indicate an advanced level of habitation dating back to the very late [[Neolithic|Neolithic Era]] ({{Circa|3500–2700 BCE}}).<ref>Methodology and African Prehistory by, [[UNESCO]]. International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a General History of Africa, p. 548</ref><ref>UNESCO World Heritage Centre. [https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/4003/ "Les mégalithes de Bouar"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803004514/https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/4003/ |date=3 August 2014 }}. UNESCO.</ref> [[Ferrous metallurgy|Ironwork]] developed in the region around 1000{{Nbsp}}BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ehret |first=Christopher |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/59451060 |title=The civilizations of Africa : a history to 1800 |date=2002 |publisher=James Currey |isbn=0-85255-476-1 |location=Oxford |pages=161 |oclc=59451060}}</ref>

The [[Ubangian languages|Ubangian people]] settled along the [[Ubangi River]] in what is today the Central and East Central African Republic while some [[Bantu peoples|Bantu people]] migrated from the southwest of [[Cameroon]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Mozaffari|first=Mehdi|chapter=Globalization, civilizations and world order: A world-constructivist approach |title=Globalization and Civilizations|pages=24–50|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-29460-4|doi=10.4324/9780203217979_chapter_2|year=2002}}</ref>

[[Banana]]s arrived in the region during the first millennium BCE<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mbida|first1=Christophe M.|last2=Van Neer|first2=Wim|last3=Doutrelepont|first3=Hugues|last4=Vrydaghs|first4=Luc|date=15 March 1999|title=Evidence for banana cultivation and animal husbandry during the first millennium BCE in the forest of southern Cameroon|journal=[[Journal of Archaeological Science]]|volume=27|issue=2|pages=151–162|doi=10.1006/jasc.1999.0447}}</ref> and added an important source of carbohydrates to the diet; they were also used in the production of [[alcoholic beverages]]. Production of [[copper]], [[salt]], [[dried fish]], and [[textiles]] dominated the economic trade in the Central African region.<ref>[[#McKenna|McKenna]], p. 10</ref>

===16th–19th century===
[[File:Sultan and his wives at Bangassou, 1906.png|thumb|The Sultan of [[Bangassou]] and his wives, 1906]]
In the 16th and 17th centuries, [[History of slavery|slave trade]]rs began to raid the region as part of the expansion of the Saharan and Nile River slave routes. Their captives were enslaved and shipped to the Mediterranean coast, Europe, Arabia, the Western Hemisphere, or to the slave ports and factories along the West and North Africa or South along the Ubangui and Congo rivers.<ref>{{Cite book|author=<!-- not stated -->|title=Central African Republic Foreign Policy and Government Guide (World Strategic and Business Information Library)|date=7 February 2007|publisher=International Business Publications|isbn=978-1433006210|page=47|volume=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XfIVA5KMEb8C&pg=PA47|access-date=25 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905090927/https://books.google.com/books?id=XfIVA5KMEb8C&pg=PA47|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="africanhistory.about.com">Alistair Boddy-Evans. [http://africanhistory.about.com/od/car/l/bl-CAR-Timeline-1.htm Central Africa Republic Timeline – Part 1: From Prehistory to Independence (13 August 1960), A Chronology of Key Events in Central Africa Republic]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423060132/http://africanhistory.about.com/od/car/l/bl-CAR-Timeline-1.htm |date=23 April 2013 }}. About.com</ref> During the 18th century Bandia-Nzakara [[Azande]] peoples established the [[Bangassou]] Kingdom along the [[Ubangi River]].<ref name="africanhistory.about.com"/> In the mid 19th century, the [[Bangi language|Bobangi people]] became major slave traders and sold their captives to the Americas using the Ubangi river to reach the coast.<ref>"[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102152/Central-African-Republic/214025/The-arts-and-cultural-institutions Central African Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413172207/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102152/Central-African-Republic/214025/The-arts-and-cultural-institutions |date=13 April 2013 }}". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref> In 1875, the [[Sudan]]ese sultan [[Rabih az-Zubayr]] governed Upper-Oubangui, which included present-day Central African Republic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rabih-az-Zubayr|title=Rābiḥ az-Zubayr {{!}} African military leader|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727191106/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rabih-az-Zubayr|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== French colonial period ===
{{Main|Ubangi-Shari|French Equatorial Africa|Colonialism in the Central African Republic}}
The European invasion of Central African territory began in the late 19th century during the [[Scramble for Africa]].<ref>[http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Centr_Afr_Rep.shtml French Colonies – Central African Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321032403/http://discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Centr_Afr_Rep.shtml |date=21 March 2013 }}. Discoverfrance.net. Retrieved 6 April 2013.</ref> Europeans, primarily the French, [[Germans]], and [[Belgians]], arrived in the area in 1885. France seized and colonized [[Ubangi-Shari]] territory in 1894. In 1911 at the [[Treaty of Fez]], France ceded a nearly 300,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> portion of the Sangha and Lobaye basins to the [[German Empire]] which ceded a smaller area (in present-day [[Chad]]) to France. After [[World War I]] France again annexed the territory. Modeled on [[Leopold II of Belgium|King Leopold]]'s [[Congo Free State]], concessions were doled out to private companies that endeavored to strip the region's assets as quickly and cheaply as possible before depositing a percentage of their profits into the French treasury. The concessionary companies [[corvée|forced local people]] to harvest rubber, coffee, and other commodities without pay and held their families hostage until they met their quotas.<ref name=fp1015>{{Cite magazine|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/28/one-day-we-will-start-a-big-war-central-african-republic-un-violence/|title=One day we will start a big war|magazine=Foreign Policy|access-date=13 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205203123/http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/28/one-day-we-will-start-a-big-war-central-african-republic-un-violence/|archive-date=5 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:De Gaulle Bangui 1940.jpg|thumb|[[Charles de Gaulle]] in Bangui, 1940]]
In 1920, [[French Equatorial Africa]] was established and Ubangi-Shari was administered from [[Brazzaville]].<ref name="Francophone Africa 1997, pg. 111">Thomas O'Toole (1997) ''Political Reform in Francophone Africa''. Westview Press. p. 111</ref> During the 1920s and 1930s the French introduced a policy of mandatory cotton cultivation,<ref name="Francophone Africa 1997, pg. 111"/> a network of roads were built, attempts were made to combat [[African trypanosomiasis|sleeping sickness]], and [[Protestant]] [[Mission (Christianity)|missions]] were established to spread Christianity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gardinier|first=David E.|title=Vocational and Technical Education in French Equatorial Africa (1842–1960)|date=1985|journal=Proceedings of the Meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society|publisher=Michigan State University Press|volume=8|pages=113–123|issn=0362-7055|jstor=42952135}}</ref> New forms of forced labour were also introduced and a large number of Ubangians were sent to work on the [[Congo-Ocean Railway]]. Through the period of construction until 1934 there was a continual heavy cost in human lives, with total deaths among all workers along the railway estimated in excess of 17,000 of the construction workers, from a combination of both industrial accidents and diseases including [[malaria]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/africa_malaria_train/html/3.stm |title=In pictures: Malaria train, Mayomba forest |publisher=news.bbc.co.uk |access-date=9 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003022228/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/07/africa_malaria_train/html/3.stm |archive-date=3 October 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref> In 1928, a major insurrection, the [[Kongo-Wara rebellion]] or 'war of the hoe handle', broke out in Western Ubangi-Shari and continued for several years. The extent of this insurrection, which was perhaps the largest anti-colonial rebellion in Africa during the interwar years, was carefully hidden from the French public because it provided evidence of strong opposition to French colonial rule and forced labour.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kalck, Pierre.|title=Historical dictionary of the Central African Republic|date=2005|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0-8108-4913-5|edition=3rd|location=Lanham, Md.|oclc=55487416}}</ref>
French colonization in Oubangui-Chari is considered to be the most brutal of the French colonial Empire.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2020-02-07|date=2010-08-11|title=Key dates for the Central African Republic|url=http://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20100811-dates-cle-republique-centrafricaine|website=rfi.fr|archive-date=22 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422052427/https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20100811-dates-cle-republique-centrafricaine|url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

In September 1940, during the [[Second World War]], [[Charles de Gaulle|pro-Gaullist]] French officers took control of Ubangi-Shari and [[General Leclerc]] established his headquarters for the [[Free French Forces]] in [[Bangui]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102152/Central-African-Republic/40700/The-colonial-era Central African Republic: The colonial era – Britannica Online Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412075355/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102152/Central-African-Republic/40700/The-colonial-era |date=12 April 2013 }}. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 6 April 2013.</ref> In 1946 [[Barthélemy Boganda]] was elected with 9,000 votes to the [[French National Assembly]], becoming the first representative of the Central African Republic in the French government. Boganda maintained a political stance against racism and the colonial regime but gradually became disheartened with the French political system and returned to the Central African Republic to establish the [[Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa]] (''Mouvement pour l'évolution sociale de l'Afrique noire'', MESAN) in 1950.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rabih-az-Zubayr|title=Rābiḥ az-Zubayr {{!}} African military leader|date=1 January 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727191106/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rabih-az-Zubayr|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Since independence (1960–present) ===
In the [[1957 Ubangi-Shari parliamentary election|Ubangi-Shari Territorial Assembly election]] in 1957, MESAN captured 347,000 out of the total 356,000 votes<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Cherkaoui |first=Said El Mansour |editor-last=Olson |editor-first=James S. |page=122 |entry =Central African Republic |title=Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism |publisher=Greenwood |date=1991 |isbn=0-313-26257-8}}</ref> and won every legislative seat,<ref>[[#Kalck|Kalck]], p. xxxi.</ref> which led to Boganda being elected president of the Grand Council of [[French Equatorial Africa]] and vice-president of the Ubangi-Shari Government Council.<ref>[[#Kalck|Kalck]], p. 90.</ref> Within a year, he declared the establishment of the Central African Republic and served as the country's first prime minister. MESAN continued to exist, but its role was limited.<ref name="Kalck2005p136">[[#Kalck|Kalck]], p. 136.</ref> The Central African Republic was granted autonomy within the French Community on 1 December 1958, a status which meant it was still counted as part of the French Empire in Africa.<ref>Langer's Encyclopedia of World History, page 1268.</ref>

After Boganda's death in a [[Barthélemy Boganda#Plane crash|plane crash]] on 29 March 1959, his cousin, [[David Dacko]], took control of MESAN. Dacko became the country's first president when the Central African Republic formally received [[independence]] from France at midnight on 13 August 1960, a date celebrated by the country's [[List of national independence days|Independence Day]] holiday.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Central African Republic |url=https://www.nepad.org/countries/central-african-republic |access-date=11 August 2020 |website=[[African Union]] Development Agency |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414111452/https://www.nepad.org/countries/central-african-republic |url-status=live }}</ref> Dacko threw out his political rivals, including [[Abel Goumba]], former Prime Minister and leader of [[Democratic Evolution Movement of Central Africa|Mouvement d'évolution démocratique de l'Afrique centrale]] (MEDAC), whom he forced into exile in France. With all opposition parties suppressed by November 1962, Dacko declared MESAN as the official party of the state.<ref>[[#Kalck|Kalck]], p. xxxii.</ref>

====Bokassa and the Central African Empire (1965–1979)====
{{Further|Central African Empire}}
[[File:Bokassa with Ceausescu (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Jean-Bédel Bokassa]], self-crowned [[Emperor of Central Africa]]<ref name=Bokassa/>]]
On 31 December 1965, Dacko was overthrown in the [[Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état]] by Colonel [[Jean-Bédel Bokassa]], who suspended the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly. President Bokassa declared himself President for Life in 1972 and named himself Emperor Bokassa I of the [[Central African Empire]] (as the country was renamed) on 4 December 1976. A year later, Emperor Bokassa crowned himself in an expensive ceremony.<ref name=Bokassa/>

In April 1979, young students protested against Bokassa's decree that all school pupils were required to buy uniforms from a company owned by one of his wives. The government violently suppressed the protests, killing 100 children and teenagers. Bokassa might have been personally involved in some of the killings.<ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7803421.stm 'Good old days' under Bokassa?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203043924/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7803421.stm |date=3 December 2013 }}". BBC News. 2 January 2009</ref> In September 1979, [[Operation Caban|France overthrew Bokassa]] and restored Dacko to power (subsequently restoring the official name of the country and the original government to the Central African Republic). Dacko, in turn, was again overthrown in a [[1981 Central African Republic coup d'état|coup]] by General [[André Kolingba]] on 1 September 1981.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/02/world/army-tropples-leader-of-central-african-republic.html|title=Army Tropples Leader of Central African Republic|last1=Prial|first1=Frank J.|date=2 September 1981|work=The New York Times|access-date=19 September 2019|last2=Times|first2=Special To the New York|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=21 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521051018/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/02/world/army-tropples-leader-of-central-african-republic.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Central African Republic under Kolingba ====
Kolingba suspended the constitution and ruled with a [[military junta]] until 1985. He introduced a new constitution in 1986 which was adopted by a nationwide referendum. Membership in his new party, the [[Rassemblement Démocratique Centrafricain]] (RDC), was voluntary. In 1987 and 1988, semi-free elections to parliament were held, but Kolingba's two major political opponents, [[Abel Goumba]] and [[Ange-Félix Patassé]], were not allowed to participate.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.discoverworld.com/Central-African-Republic:In-depth#Why-Visit|title=Central African Republic – Discover World|website=www.discoverworld.com|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210180433/https://www.discoverworld.com/Central-African-Republic:In-depth#Why-Visit|archive-date=10 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

By 1990, inspired by the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]], a pro-democracy movement arose. Pressure from the United States, France, and from a group of locally represented countries and agencies called GIBAFOR (France, the US, Germany, Japan, the EU, the [[World Bank]], and the [[United Nations]]) finally led Kolingba to agree, in principle, to hold free elections in October 1992 with help from the UN Office of Electoral Affairs. After using the excuse of alleged irregularities to suspend the results of the elections as a pretext for holding on to power, President Kolingba came under intense pressure from GIBAFOR to establish a "Conseil National Politique Provisoire de la République" (Provisional National Political Council, CNPPR) and to set up a "Mixed Electoral Commission", which included representatives from all political parties.<ref name=":0" />

When a second round of elections were finally held in 1993, again with the help of the international community coordinated by GIBAFOR, Ange-Félix Patassé won in the second round of voting with 53% of the vote while Goumba won 45.6%. Patassé's party, the ''Mouvement pour la Libération du Peuple Centrafricain'' (MLPC) or Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People, gained a [[Plurality voting|plurality]] (relative majority) but not an [[Majority|absolute majority]] of seats in parliament, which meant Patassé's party required coalition partners.<ref name=":0" />

==== Patassé government (1993–2003) ====
Patassé purged many of the Kolingba elements from the government and Kolingba supporters accused Patassé's government of conducting a "[[Witch-hunt#Figurative use of the term|witch hunt]]" against the Yakoma. A new constitution was approved on 28 December 1994 but had little impact on the country's politics. In 1996–1997, reflecting steadily decreasing public confidence in the government's erratic behavior, three [[Mutiny|mutinies]] against Patassé's administration were accompanied by widespread destruction of property and heightened ethnic tension. During this time (1996), the [[Peace Corps]] evacuated all its volunteers to neighboring Cameroon. To date, the Peace Corps has not returned to the Central African Republic. The [[Bangui Agreements]], signed in January 1997, provided for the deployment of an inter-African military mission, to the Central African Republic and re-entry of ex-mutineers into the government on 7 April 1997. The inter-African military mission was later replaced by a U.N. [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1159|peacekeeping force (MINURCA)]]. Since 1997, the country has hosted almost a dozen peacekeeping interventions, earning it the title of "world champion of peacekeeping".<ref name=fp1015/>

In 1998, parliamentary elections resulted in Kolingba's RDC winning 20 out of 109 seats. The next year, however, in spite of widespread public anger in urban centers over his corrupt rule, Patassé won a second term in the presidential election.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eisa.org.za/wep/car1999results.htm|title=EISA Central African Republic: 1999 Presidential election results|date=October 2010|website=www.eisa.org.za|publisher=African Democracy Encyclopaedia Project|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=29 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729062022/https://eisa.org.za/wep/car1999results.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 28 May 2001, rebels stormed strategic buildings in Bangui in an [[2001 Central African Republic coup d'état attempt|unsuccessful coup attempt]]. The army chief of staff, Abel Abrou, and General François N'Djadder Bedaya were killed, but Patassé regained the upper hand by bringing in at least 300 troops of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]] rebel leader [[Jean-Pierre Bemba]] and Libyan soldiers.<ref>{{Cite web|author=International Crisis Group|title=Central African Republic: Anatomy of a Phantom State|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/central-africa/central-african-republic/Central%20African%20Republic%20Anatomy%20of%20a%20Phantom%20State.pdf|website=CrisisGroup.org|publisher=International Crisis Group|access-date=24 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626162538/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/central-africa/central-african-republic/Central%20African%20Republic%20Anatomy%20of%20a%20Phantom%20State.pdf|archive-date=26 June 2014}}</ref>

In the aftermath of the [[2001 Central African Republic coup d'état attempt|failed coup]], militias loyal to Patassé sought revenge against rebels in many neighborhoods of [[Bangui]] and incited unrest including the murder of many political opponents. Eventually, Patassé came to suspect that General [[François Bozizé]] was involved in another coup attempt against him, which led Bozizé to flee with loyal troops to Chad. In March 2003, Bozizé launched a surprise attack against Patassé, who was out of the country. Libyan troops and some 1,000 soldiers of Bemba's Congolese rebel organization failed to stop the rebels and Bozizé's forces succeeded in overthrowing Patassé.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discoverworld.com/Central-African-Republic:In-depth#History|title=Central African Republic History|date=2018|website=DiscoverWorld.com|access-date=15 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210180433/https://www.discoverworld.com/Central-African-Republic:In-depth#History|archive-date=10 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Civil wars ====
[[File:Rebel in northern CAR 01.jpg|thumb|Rebel militia in the northern countryside, 2007]]
{{See also|Central African Republic Bush War|Central African Republic Civil War}}
[[François Bozizé]] suspended the constitution and named a new cabinet, which included most opposition parties. [[Abel Goumba]] was named vice-president. Bozizé established a broad-based National Transition Council to draft a new constitution, and announced that he would step down and run for office once the new constitution was approved.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2003/04/28/bozize-step-down-after-transitional-period|title=Bozize to step down after transitional period|date=28 April 2003|website=The New Humanitarian|language=en|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=27 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227210349/http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2003/04/28/bozize-step-down-after-transitional-period|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, the [[Central African Republic Bush War]] began as forces opposed to Bozizé took up arms against his government. In May 2005, Bozizé won the presidential election, which excluded Patassé, and in 2006 fighting continued between the government and the rebels.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Polgreen|first=Lydia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/world/africa/10africa.html|title=On the Run as War Crosses Another Line in Africa|date=10 December 2006|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=27 February 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211230556/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/world/africa/10africa.html|archive-date=11 December 2008|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In November 2006, Bozizé's government requested French military support to help them repel rebels who had taken control of towns in the country's northern regions.<ref name="bbc20061114">{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6146748.stm |title=CAR hails French pledge on rebels |access-date=26 December 2012 |date=14 November 2006 |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411202855/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6146748.stm |archive-date=11 April 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Though the initial public details of the agreement pertained to logistics and intelligence, by December the French assistance included airstrikes by [[Dassault Mirage 2000]] fighters against rebel positions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/central-african-republic-hundreds-flee-birao-french-jets-strike|title=Central African Republic: Hundreds flee Birao as French jets strike – Central African Republic|date=1 December 2006|website=[[ReliefWeb]]|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227200339/https://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/central-african-republic-hundreds-flee-birao-french-jets-strike|archive-date=27 February 2020|access-date=27 February 2020}}</ref><ref name="bbc20061130">{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6196652.stm |title=French planes attack CAR rebels |access-date=26 December 2012 |date=30 November 2006 |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108012738/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6196652.stm |archive-date=8 November 2012 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

The Syrte Agreement in February and the Birao Peace Agreement in April 2007 called for a cessation of hostilities, the billeting of [[Democratic Front of the Central African People|FDPC]] fighters and their integration with FACA, the liberation of political prisoners, the integration of FDPC into government, an amnesty for the [[Union of Democratic Forces for Unity|UFDR]], its recognition as a political party, and the integration of its fighters into the national army. Several groups continued to fight but other groups signed on to the agreement or similar agreements with the government (e.g., UFR on 15 December 2008). The only major group not to sign an agreement at the time was the [[Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace|CPJP]], which continued its activities and signed a peace agreement with the government on 25 August 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PA-X: Peace Agreements Database |url=https://www.peaceagreements.org/view/807 |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=www.peaceagreements.org |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119151638/https://www.peaceagreements.org/view/807 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2011, Bozizé was reelected in an election which was widely considered fraudulent.<ref name=CIA/>

In November 2012, [[Séléka]], a coalition of rebel groups, took over towns in the northern and central regions of the country. These groups eventually reached a peace deal with Bozizé's government in January 2013, involving a power-sharing government.<ref name=CIA/> The deal later broke down, and the rebels seized the capital in March 2013 and Bozizé fled the country.<ref name="cnn20130324">{{Cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/24/world/africa/central-african-republic-unrest/index.html |title=Central African Republic president flees capital amid violence, official says |date=24 March 2013 |access-date=24 March 2013 |publisher=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325043935/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/24/world/africa/central-african-republic-unrest/index.html |archive-date=25 March 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref name="nyt20130325">{{Cite news | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/world/africa/leader-of-central-african-republic-francois-bozize-is-in-cameroon.html | title =Leader of Central African Republic Fled to Cameroon, Official Says | author =Lydia Polgreen | work =The New York Times | date =25 March 2013 | access-date =26 February 2017 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170202135349/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/world/africa/leader-of-central-african-republic-francois-bozize-is-in-cameroon.html | archive-date =2 February 2017 | url-status =live | df =dmy-all }}</ref>
[[File:Refugees of the fighting in the Central African Republic observe Rwandan soldiers being dropped off at Bangui M'Poko International Airport in the Central African Republic Jan. 19, 2014 140119-F-RN211-760.jpg|thumb|left|[[Refugee]]s of the fighting in the Central African Republic, January 2014]]

[[Michel Djotodia]] took over as president. Prime Minister [[Nicolas Tiangaye]] requested a [[UN]] peacekeeping force from the [[UN Security Council]] and on 31 May former President Bozizé was indicted for crimes against humanity and incitement to genocide.<ref>[http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/crisiswatch/2013/crisiswatch-117.aspx "CrisisWatch N°117"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920154410/http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/crisiswatch/2013/crisiswatch-117.aspx |date=20 September 2013 }}. crisisgroup.org.</ref> By the end of the year, there were international warnings of a "genocide"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24800682|title=UN warning over Central African Republic genocide risk|work=BBC News|access-date=25 November 2013|date=4 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131119131538/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24800682|archive-date=19 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-centralafrica-france-idUKBRE9AK0WU20131121|title=France says Central African Republic on verge of genocide|work=Reuters|access-date=25 November 2013|date=21 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123121217/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/21/uk-centralafrica-france-idUKBRE9AK0WU20131121|archive-date=23 November 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and fighting was largely reprisal attacks on civilians by Seleka's predominantly Muslim fighters and Christian militias called "[[anti-balaka]]".<ref name = GuardianNov13/> By August 2013, there were reports of over 200,000 [[internally displaced persons]] (IDPs).<ref>[http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/crisiswatch/2013/crisiswatch-118.aspx "CrisisWatch N°118"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920153834/http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/crisiswatch/2013/crisiswatch-118.aspx |date=20 September 2013 }}. crisisgroup.org.</ref><ref>[http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/crisiswatch/2013/crisiswatch-119.aspx "CrisisWatch N°119"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920140045/http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/crisiswatch/2013/crisiswatch-119.aspx |date=20 September 2013 }}. crisisgroup.org.</ref>

[[President of France|French President]] [[François Hollande]] called on the [[UN Security Council]] and the [[African Union]] to increase their efforts to stabilize the country. On 18 February 2014, [[United Nations]] Secretary-General [[Ban Ki-moon]] called on the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] to immediately deploy 3,000 troops to the country, bolstering the 6,000 African Union soldiers and 2,000 French troops already in the country, to combat civilians being murdered in large numbers. The ''Séléka'' government was said to be divided,<ref>{{Cite news|author=Mark Tran|title=Central African Republic crisis to be scrutinised by UN security council|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/aug/14/central-african-republic-humanitarian-crisis-un|newspaper=The Guardian|date=14 August 2013|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215021631/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/aug/14/central-african-republic-humanitarian-crisis-un|archive-date=15 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and in September 2013, Djotodia officially disbanded Seleka, but many rebels refused to disarm, becoming known as ex-Seleka, and veered further out of government control.<ref name = GuardianNov13>Smith, David (22 November 2013) [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/22/central-african-republic-verge-of-genocide Unspeakable horrors in a country on the verge of genocide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202011436/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/22/central-african-republic-verge-of-genocide |date=2 December 2016 }} ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 23 November 2013</ref> It is argued that the focus of the initial disarmament efforts exclusively on the Seleka inadvertently handed the anti-Balaka the upper hand, leading to the forced displacement of Muslim civilians by anti-Balaka in Bangui and western Central African Republic.<ref name=fp1015/>

On 11 January 2014, Michael Djotodia and Nicolas Tiengaye resigned as part of a deal negotiated at a regional summit in neighboring [[Chad]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25683279|title=CAR interim President Michel Djotodia resigns|work=BBC News|access-date=16 October 2014|date=11 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012151730/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25683279|archive-date=12 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Catherine Samba-Panza]] was elected interim president by the National Transitional Council,<ref>{{Cite news |author=Paul-Marin Ngoupana |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-centralafrican-idUKBREA090O220140111 |title=Central African Republic's capital tense as ex-leader heads into exile |agency=Reuters |date=11 January 2014 |newspaper=Reuters |access-date=6 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214060304/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/11/uk-centralafrican-idUKBREA090O220140111 |archive-date=14 February 2014 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> becoming the first ever female Central African president. On 23 July 2014, following Congolese mediation efforts, Séléka and anti-balaka representatives signed a ceasefire agreement in [[Brazzaville]].<ref>"[http://www.lavoixdelamerique.com/content/rca-signature-d-un-accord-de-cessez-le-feu-a-brazzaville/1964081.html RCA : signature d’un accord de cessez-le-feu à Brazzaville] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729005744/http://www.lavoixdelamerique.com/content/rca-signature-d-un-accord-de-cessez-le-feu-a-brazzaville/1964081.html |date=29 July 2014 }}". VOA. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.</ref> By the end of 2014, the country was de facto partitioned with the anti-Balaka in the southwest and ex-Seleka in the northeast.<ref name=fp1015/> In March 2015, [[Samantha Power]], the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said 417 of the country's 436 mosques had been destroyed, and Muslim women were so scared of going out in public they were giving birth in their homes instead of going to the hospital.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/world/almost-all-436-central-african-republic-mosques-destroyed-u-s-diplomat-1.2284619|title=Almost all 436 Central African Republic mosques destroyed: U.S. diplomat|date=17 March 2015|access-date=15 March 2020|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727184606/https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/world/almost-all-436-central-african-republic-mosques-destroyed-u-s-diplomat-1.2284619|url-status=live}}</ref> On 14 December 2015, Séléka rebel leaders declared an independent [[Republic of Logone]].<ref>"[https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN0TZ0TW20151216 Rebel declares autonomous state in Central African Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518213619/http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN0TZ0TW20151216 |date=18 May 2017 }}". Reuters. 16 December 2015.</ref>

==== Touadéra government (2016–present) ====
[[File:War_in_Central_African_Republic.svg|thumb|Current military situation in Central African Republic]]
[[2015–16 Central African general election|Presidential elections]] were held in December 2015. As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a second round of elections was held on 14 February 2016 with run-offs on 31 March 2016.<ref>[http://rjdh.org/centrafrique-le-corps-electoral-convoque-le-14-fevrier-pour-le-1er-tour-des-legislatives-et-le-second-tour-de-la-presidentielle/ Centrafrique : Le corps électoral convoqué le 14 février pour le 1er tour des législatives et le second tour de la présidentielle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104145113/http://rjdh.org/centrafrique-le-corps-electoral-convoque-le-14-fevrier-pour-le-1er-tour-des-legislatives-et-le-second-tour-de-la-presidentielle/|date=4 January 2017}} (in French), RJDH, 28 January 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.enca.com/africa/new-central-african-president-takes-country-ruins New Central African president takes on a country in ruins] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104144133/https://www.enca.com/africa/new-central-african-president-takes-country-ruins |date=4 January 2017 }} ENCA, 28 March 2016</ref> In the second round of voting, former Prime Minister [[Faustin-Archange Touadéra]] was declared the winner with 63% of the vote, defeating [[Union for Central African Renewal]] candidate [[Anicet-Georges Dologuélé]], another former Prime Minister.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35623491 CAR presidential election: Faustin Touadera declared winner] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128162104/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35623491 |date=28 January 2021 }} BBC News, 20 February 2016</ref> While the elections suffered from many potential voters being absent as they had taken refuge in other countries, the fears of widespread violence were ultimately unfounded, and the [[African Union]] regarded the elections as successful.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/central-african-republic/freedom-world/2020|title=Central African Republic: Freedom in the World 2020 Country Report|website=Freedom House|access-date=30 December 2020|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129175737/https://freedomhouse.org/country/central-african-republic/freedom-world/2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Touadéra was sworn in on 30 March 2016. No representatives of the Seleka rebel group or the "anti-balaka" militias were included in the subsequently formed government.<ref>Vincent Duhem, [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/317433/politique/centrafrique-quil-faut-retenir-nouveau-gouvernement-devoile-touadera/ "Centrafrique : ce qu’il faut retenir du nouveau gouvernement dévoilé par Touadéra"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201092527/https://www.jeuneafrique.com/317433/politique/centrafrique-quil-faut-retenir-nouveau-gouvernement-devoile-touadera/ |date=1 December 2020 }}, ''Jeune Afrique'', 13 April 2016 {{In lang|fr}}.</ref>

After the end of Touadéra's first term, [[2020–21 Central African general election|presidential elections]] were held on 27 December 2020 with a possible second round planned for 14 February 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 August 2019|title=Code électoral de la République Centrafricaine (Titre 2, Chapitre 1, Art. 131)|url=http://www.droit-afrique.com/uploads/RCA-Code-2019-electoral.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.droit-afrique.com/uploads/RCA-Code-2019-electoral.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=30 December 2020|website=Droit-Afrique.com|language=fr}}</ref> Former president [[François Bozizé]] announced his candidacy on 25 July 2020 but was rejected by the Constitutional Court of the country, which held that Bozizé did not satisfy the "good morality" requirement for candidates because of an international warrant and [[United Nations]] sanctions against him for alleged assassinations, torture and other crimes.<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 December 2020|title=RCA : présidentielle du 27 décembre, la Cour Constitutionnelle publie la liste définitive des candidats|url=https://corbeaunews-centrafrique.com/rca-presidentielle-du-27-decembre-la-cour-constitutionnelle-publie-la-liste-definitive-des-candidats/|access-date=30 December 2020|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109184142/https://corbeaunews-centrafrique.com/rca-presidentielle-du-27-decembre-la-cour-constitutionnelle-publie-la-liste-definitive-des-candidats/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As large parts of the country were at the time controlled by armed groups, the election could not be conducted in many areas of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|date=29 December 2020|title=Centrafrique : " ces élections, c'est une escroquerie politique ", dixit le candidat à la présidentielle Martin Ziguélé|url=https://letsunami.net/centrafrique-ces-elections-cest-une-escroquerie-politique-dixit-le-candidat-a-la-presidentielle-martin-ziguele/|access-date=30 December 2020|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229130521/https://letsunami.net/centrafrique-ces-elections-cest-une-escroquerie-politique-dixit-le-candidat-a-la-presidentielle-martin-ziguele/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=29 December 2020|title=Élections en Centrafrique: la légitimité du scrutin, perturbé en province, divise à Bangui|url=https://corbeaunews-centrafrique.com/elections-en-centrafrique-la-legitimite-du-scrutin-perturbe-en-province-divise-a-bangui/|access-date=30 December 2020|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229050648/https://corbeaunews-centrafrique.com/elections-en-centrafrique-la-legitimite-du-scrutin-perturbe-en-province-divise-a-bangui/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some 800 of the country's polling stations, or 14% of the total, were closed due to violence.<ref>{{Cite news|date=28 December 2020|title=CAR violence forced closure of 800 polling stations: Commission|language=en|work=aljazeera.com|publisher=Al Jazeera English|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/28/violence-forces-800-polling-stations-to-close-in-car-commission|access-date=29 December 2020|archive-date=20 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120045703/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/28/violence-forces-800-polling-stations-to-close-in-car-commission|url-status=live}}</ref> Three [[Burundi]]an peacekeepers were killed and an additional two were wounded during the run-up to the election.<ref>{{Cite news|date=26 December 2020|title=Three UN peacekeepers killed in CAR ahead of Sunday's elections|language=en|work=www.aljazeera.com|publisher=Al Jazeera|agency=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/26/three-peacekeepers-killed-in-car-as-rebel-group-calls-off-truce|access-date=26 December 2020|archive-date=27 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227144436/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/26/three-peacekeepers-killed-in-car-as-rebel-group-calls-off-truce|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="UNNews_261220">{{Cite news|date=26 December 2020|title=UN chief condemns attacks against peacekeepers in the Central African Republic|language=en|work=UN News|agency=United Nations News Service|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1080892|access-date=26 December 2020|ref=UNNews_261220|archive-date=27 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227144916/https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/12/1080892|url-status=live}}</ref> President Faustin-Archange Touadéra was reelected in the first round of the election in December 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.africanews.com/2021/01/04/car-president-touadera-reelected-electoral-commission/|title = Central African Republic President Touadéra wins re-election|date = 4 January 2021|access-date = 27 April 2021|archive-date = 9 January 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210109000339/https://www.africanews.com/2021/01/04/car-president-touadera-reelected-electoral-commission//|url-status = live}}</ref> Russian mercenaries from the [[Wagner Group]] have supported President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in the fight against rebels. Russia's Wagner group has been accused of harassing and intimidating civilians.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Wagner Group: Why the EU is alarmed by Russian mercenaries in Central Africa |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59699350 |work=BBC News |date=19 December 2021 |access-date=21 April 2022 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327074036/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-59699350 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cohen |first1=Roger |last2=Lima |first2=Mauricio |title=Putin Wants Fealty, and He's Found It in Africa |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/24/world/africa/central-african-republic-russia-wagner.html |access-date=4 January 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=24 December 2022 |archive-date=3 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103183631/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/24/world/africa/central-african-republic-russia-wagner.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2022, [[Roger Cohen]] wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'', "[[Wagner Group|Wagner]] shock troops form a Praetorian Guard for Mr. Touadéra, who is also protected by Rwandan forces, in return for an untaxed license to exploit and export the Central African Republic's resources" and "one Western ambassador called the Central African Republic...a 'vassal state' of the Kremlin."<ref>Roger Cohen.  Africa's Allegiance to Putin.  New York Times, International Edition; 31 Dec 2022 / 1 Jan 2023, page A1+.</ref>