Séléka

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Séléka ( Sango for alliance ) is a coalition of several rebel groups in the Central African Republic . It was constituted in August 2012 from the Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement ( UFDR ) and the Convention des patriotes pour la justice et la paix ( CPJP ). The militias signed peace agreements with the government in January 2013, but later accused the government of breaching the agreement. In March 2013, they launched a coup against the government of President François Bozizé , who fled abroad. One of the leaders of Séléka, Michel Djotodia , declared himself president and tried to disband the militia. However, many of the rebels refused to disarm, which resulted in looting by the undissolved militias in the country. Skirmishes between various armed groups have continued since the coup. The majority of the members of the Séléka are Muslims.

Offensive from December 2012 to January 2013

In a letter dated December 12, 2012, the Séléka - now affiliated with the Convention des Patriotes pour le Salut du Kodro ( CPSK ) - threatened to overthrow the government under President François Bozizé , who came to power in a military coup in 2003 , should this not meet their demands. Among other things, the implementation of the peace treaty with the UFDR was criticized. From December 10th, the Séléka was able to record great military successes in the following weeks and advance further and further towards the capital Bangui . Ndélé was taken on December 10th, Bambari on December 23rd, and Sibut on December 29th .

On December 27, Bozizé turned to the former colonial power France and the United States of America and asked for support against the advance of the Séléka. At that time, 250 French soldiers were stationed in the Central African Republic. In 2006 France had already supported the government in cracking down on insurgents with air strikes . On the same day, French President François Hollande declared his opposition to interference and protection of the Bozizé government. The stationed troops served to protect French citizens. Approx. 1200 French lived in the Central African Republic at that time. In the following two days, France sent another 150 soldiers to Bangui. Since the end of 2011, the USA had deployed around 100 Special Forces as military advisors to combat the Lord's Resistance Army in the region, which in addition to the Central African Republic also operated in Uganda , the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan . On December 27, the United States sent around 50 more soldiers to Chad. These should be used to evacuate US citizens, especially diplomats, from the Central African Republic.

At a meeting in Gabon on December 28, the representatives of the states of the Central African Economic Community agreed to send troops to intervene in the Central African Republic. Subsequently, Gabon, Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville each sent around 120 soldiers by the beginning of January . In a report from January 2, 2013, Reuters spoke of 600 French soldiers in the republic.

On January 2, 2013, the Séléka announced that it would not attack Bangui for the time being. She is ready for peace talks under the leadership of the Central African Economic Community. As it became known on January 6, the South African President Jacob Zuma allowed up to 400 soldiers to be deployed to the Central African Republic at the beginning of January. Approx. 200 soldiers were deployed by January 8th.

Armistice and government participation in early 2013

On the evening of January 7th, representatives of the Séléka met in Libreville , the capital of Gabon and the seat of the Central African Economic Community, for the negotiations. The delegation was chaired by Michel Djotodia . On January 11, a provisional, week-long ceasefire agreement was signed. In addition to UFDR, CPJP and CPSK, this agreement also lists the Union des forces républicaines ( UFR ) as a member of the Séléka. The Séléka waived their call for Bozizé to resign, instead the government should be reformed within that week, with an opposition member becoming prime minister . On January 17th, the human rights activist Nicolas Tiangaye was appointed Prime Minister, who should take care of the further formation of the government. However, on February 3, President Bozizé announced the appointment of new ministers. Leaders of the Séléka also received ministerial posts. Mohamed Dhaffane , General of the Séléka elected as minister, declared his displeasure with the concrete government reshuffle by the president.

Termination of the armistice and renewed offensive since March 2013

The Séléka expressed dissatisfaction with the competences granted to its ministries and the constant presence of foreign intervention forces in the country. The five Séléka ministers went to Sibut on March 17, 2013 and did not return to the capital for the time being. On the same day, the Séléka issued a three-day ultimatum in which it requested, among other things, the release of prisoners from the Séléka. On March 20, the president ordered the end of the state of emergency , the lifting of all roadblocks and the release of all political prisoners, but it was not implemented immediately. The Séléka canceled the truce on the same day and began fighting again. The following day, she first took the towns of Bouka and Batangafo in the north of the country. On March 22 the home side's Seleka, the only place about 70 km away from the capital Damara to take control.

On the evening of March 23, several hundred Séléka rebels reached Bangui and fought with government troops . A day earlier, at least 2,000 insurgents are said to have advanced towards Bangui. By the morning of March 24, Séléka forces had largely controlled Bangui, including the presidential palace, after heavy fighting. South African soldiers who fought alongside the government troops for the capital fought off attacks by Séléka units for nine hours with heavy losses for both sides and finally agreed to an offered ceasefire. President Bozizé was on the run to Cameroon at the time . Djotodia then declared himself president and dissolved the Séléka. However, many of the rebels refused to disarm and the country was heavily looted by the undissolved militias.

Christian-dominated militias fight against the Séléka under the collective term anti-balaka . The anti-Balaka militias are mainly active in the capital Bangui, now consist of 60,000–70,000 men and for the most part support the former President François Bozizé . The fighting is very bloody, with numerous civilian deaths. Séléka and Anti-Balaka also recruit numerous child soldiers for the fight .

On December 14, 2015, the Séléka proclaimed the Republic of Dar el Kuti . At first they just want autonomy, but strive for complete independence in the future.

The fighting continues to this day (as of 2019), see also the list of terrorist attacks in the Central African Republic

Individual evidence

  1. Dominic Johnson : Goma 2012 - Bangui 2013? December 29, 2012, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  2. a b c Unspeakable horrors in a country on the verge of genocide , Guardian, November 22, 2013
  3. ^ Three rebel groups threaten to topple C. African regime. AFP , December 16, 2012, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  4. Christophe Châtelot: Menace par les rebelles, le président centrafricain appelle la France et le Tchad à l'aide. Le Monde , December 27, 2012, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  5. Paul-Marin Ngoupana: Bangui lance un appel à l'aide, les "cousins français" renâclent. Reuters , December 27, 2012, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  6. ^ Johann Hari: Inside France's secret war. The Independent , October 5, 2007, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  7. a b c d Ange Aboa: Central African Republic rebels halt advance, agree to peace talks. Reuters , January 2, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  8. ^ Josh Kron: Rebels Are Advancing Toward Capital of Central African Republic. The New York Times , December 27, 2012, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  9. a b CAR neighbors agree to send support troops. Al Jazeera , December 29, 2012, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  10. ^ Brian Bennett, Robyn Dixon: US sending military advisors to Uganda. Los Angeles Times , October 15, 2011, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  11. a b South Africa bolsters its troops in the Central African Republic. January 8, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  12. US troops sent to aid CAR evacuation. Al Jazeera , December 30, 2012, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  13. ^ A b South Africa to send 400 soldiers to CAR. Al Jazeera , January 6, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  14. ^ Afua Hirsch : Central African Republic rebels agree to talks. The Guardian , January 2, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  15. Scott Sayare: Central Africa on the Brink, Rebels Halt Their Advance. The New York Times , January 2, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  16. ^ La Séléka rentre à Libreville pour des négociations qui s'annoncent houleuses. (No longer available online.) Gabonactu.com, Jan 7, 2013, archived from the original on Jan 9, 2013 ; Retrieved March 22, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gabonactu.com
  17. a b Scott Sayare: Rebel Coalition in Central African Republic Agrees to a Short Cease-Fire. The New York Times , January 11, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  18. Centrafrique: la rébellion consent un cessez-le-feu provisoire. Le Monde , January 10, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  19. RCA: Les accords de libreville sont devenus caduques selon l'UFR, une des entités de la coalition Seleka. Al Wihda , February 9, 2013, accessed March 24, 2013 .
  20. Accord de Cessez-le-feu. (PDF; 682 kB) January 11, 2013, accessed on March 24, 2013 .
  21. Dominic Johnson : Progress in Peace Talks. the daily newspaper , January 11, 2013, accessed on March 22, 2013 .
  22. Dominic Johnson : Cabinet Bit of the Rebels. the daily newspaper , February 4, 2013, accessed on March 22, 2013 .
  23. a b Dominic Johnson : Rebels end ceasefire. the daily newspaper , March 22, 2013, accessed on March 22, 2013 .
  24. Centrafrique: les ministres de la coalition Séléka seraient des otages volontaires. Voice of America , March 20, 2013, accessed March 24, 2013 .
  25. SELEKA: Les dessous d'une fausse prize d'otages. La Nouvelle Centrafrique , March 23, 2013, accessed March 24, 2013 .
  26. a b RCA: la Séléka se dit prête à «retourner aux armes» suite à l'expiration de son ultimatum. Radio France Internationale , March 20, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  27. a b Central African Republic: Séléka rebels want to start fighting again. (No longer available online.) Deutschlandradio , March 20, 2013, formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 22, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / Wissen.dradio.de  
  28. Central Africa: les rebelles de la Seleka disent être entrés en milieu de matinée dans les localités de Bouka et Batangafo (north du pays). (No longer available online.) Radio France Internationale , March 21, 2013, formerly the original ; Retrieved March 22, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.rfi.fr  
  29. RCA: la Seleka poursuit son avancée. Radio France Internationale , March 22, 2013, accessed March 22, 2013 .
  30. Central African Republic rebels 'enter capital Bangui'. BBC , March 23, 2013, accessed March 23, 2013 .
  31. Les rebelles centrafricains annoncent leur entrée dans Bangui. March 23, 2013, accessed March 23, 2013 .
  32. Rebels advance on the capital. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 23, 2013, accessed on March 23, 2013 .
  33. Centrafrique: les rebelles prennent le palais présidentiel à Bangui. Le Monde , March 24, 2013, accessed March 24, 2013 .
  34. Centrafrique: les rebelles ont pris le palais présidentiel. (No longer available online.) Radio France Internationale , March 24, 2013, archived from the original on March 27, 2013 ; Retrieved March 24, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rfi.fr
  35. The Daily Star: "Thirteen S.Africa soldiers dead in C.Africa fighting: Zuma" from March 25, 2013, viewed on March 26, 2013
  36. Christopher Torchia and Rukmini Callimachi: "Central African Republic president flees to Cameroon," Washington Post, March 25, 2013, viewed March 26, 2013
  37. Short biography with photo on the page africanaute.com (French) ( Memento of the original from March 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 3, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.africanaute.com
  38. http://www.dw.de/das-elend-in-der-zentralafrikanische-reform-w%C3%A4chst/a-17296263
  39. 'Hundreds dead' in Central African Republic violence , BBC, December 6, 2013
  40. ^ The Africa Report: The Republic of Logone: Self-determination and CAR's territorial integrity , accessed December 19, 2015.