Last month, rebels in the Central African Republic launched a sudden military campaign against the government, rapidly taking over city after city in their advance towards the capital. Fighting has now come to a temporary halt, with much of the country under rebel control. Read on for a summary of the conflict so far.
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Advance of Séléka rebels in the Central African Republic during December 2012 and January 2013. Map fact-checked and modified by Evan Centanni from this map by Wikimedia user Keitsist. License: CC BY-SA
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Updated Map: Central African Republic - Map of Rebel Control (March 2013)
Rebellion in the Central African Republic
In 2007, a
three-year civil war came to an end in the Central African Republic (CAR) when the government reached a peace agreement with several rebel groups. Yet six years later, some of the rebels feel that the government has still not honored its side of that agreement, and last month violence broke out once again.
The new fighting was initiated by a coalition of rebel groups calling itself "Séléka", which means "alliance" in Sango, the national language of the CAR. The rebels have threatened to depose
President François Bozizé, who took power in a 2003 coup but has since won two controversial elections.