Central African Republic

The Central African Republic has long had one of the least effective central governments on the continent. From the very beginning of this country's independence from France, the mysterious death of Barthélemy Boganda, who had been poised to become the first president, cast a shadow over the nation. A series of coups followed, including a notorious period under a self-declared emperor, Jean-Bedel Bokassa. Violence from rebel groups has made life increasingly difficult for the citizens of the Central African Republic. In 2013, "Séléka," a coalition of mostly Muslim rebel groups, seized the capital, making one of their leaders president and forcing the previous president to flee the country. Eventually the president of France, UN Security Council and African Union persuaded the president to disband Séléka, and Catherine Samba-Panza was elected interim president, the first female president in Central Africa. On March 30 of this year, a previous Prime Minister, Faustin Archange Touadéra, was elected as the new president. Today, CAR remains one of the most lawless, dangerous and unstable nations on earth. Thousands have been killed so far in the four-year civil war. Nearly a million are internally displaced, while hundreds of thousands are refugees in the neighboring countries of Cameroon, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On December 14, 2015 the Séléka declared an autonomous state in the city of Kaga-Bandoro, calling it the "Republic of Logone."

The northern part of CAR has an indigenous Muslim population dating back centuries. This was however a very small segment of the population of CAR at independence (1960). Increased desertification and the rich natural resources of CAR have resulted in a large immigration of Muslims from mainly southern Chad and Sudan in the last decades. As the majority of these Muslims have been entering the country throughout the years as foreigners, the Central African government has not been favorable to give them identity and birth papers. The parallel with Ivory Coast is coming up where Muslims from northern regions and foreign descent were not accepted as citizens.

The Bangui Declaration, issued and signed by CAR’s most prominent Christian leaders on 6 October 2013, describes recent events in the country “of a jihadist nature” and Séléka as a coalition “90% consisting of Muslim extremists from Chad and Sudan.” The same declaration also notes: “The participation of foreigners in the Séléka, specifically Chadian and Sudanese mercenaries speaking only Arabic, must be noted.” The declaration concludes warning once more that the country is “falling into the hands of extremists and religious fanatics.”