C. Former African President Bozize Supports Rebel Alliance

Former Central African Republic President François Bozize has supported a rebel alliance aimed at overthrowing the central government, the group’s spokesperson said on Sunday.

Bozize seized power in the former French colony in 2003 and was ousted a decade later, an act that sparked a sectarian-type civil war.

The government accused him of being behind a failed offensive against President Faustin Archange Touadera in December.

Bozize spokesman Serge Bozanga confirmed to AFP on Sunday that he had agreed in February to become “general coordinator” of the so-called Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), which tried to block the re-election of Touadera, to see their offensive repulsed.

Bozanga confirmed the authenticity of a document dated February 18 stating that Bozize accepted the “appeal” to the CCP leadership.

The coalition brought together six of the armed groups that control much of the country in mid-December to launch the offensive against Touadera, just over a week before the presidential and legislative elections.

Bozize, who expressed his support for the CCP in December while urging a boycott of the elections, denied the allegations of leading the group.

On January 4, the government launched an investigation against him for “rebellion”.

Faced with a 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping force as well as hundreds of Russian and Rwandan soldiers and paramilitaries deployed at the end of December, the rebels have been retreating since a January 13 attack on the capital Bangui was foiled.

The government alleged that they acted in concert with Bozize.

The Constitutional Court had previously blocked Bozize’s candidacy for the December presidential election on the grounds that he was under UN sanctions for his alleged support for militias held responsible for war crimes and crimes against the humanity committed during the 2013-14 conflict.

Touadera was re-elected in the first round of voting, according to official figures, but the turnout was only 35% as many voters were unable to vote.

Bozize fled abroad after being overthrown in 2013.

He returned at the end of 2019, fueling fears that the struggling nation could once again be plunged into full-blown conflict.

Landlocked CAR is one of the poorest nations in the world and has seen a series of coups and wars since gaining independence from France in 1960.

Violence remains endemic in a country where two-thirds of the territory is controlled by militias.

Thousands of people have died in CAR since 2013 and more than a quarter of the population of 4.9 million have fled their homes.

Of this number, 675,000 are refugees in neighboring countries.