Timeline Central African Republic
Return to home
Dinar: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/CAR.html
Fung: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/centralafr.html
CIA Factbook: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ct.html
Polygamy is legal in the former French colony, one of
the world's
poorest countries, with men allowed to marry up to four wives.
(Reuters, 12/03/05)
1921
Feb 22, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, dictator Central African
Republic, was born.
(MC, 2/22/02)
1959 CAR adopted a Constitution.
(SFC, 5/22/96, p.A9)
1960 Aug 13, Central African
Republic became independence from France and David Dacko was named 1st
president.
(MC, 8/13/02)(PC, 1992, p.973)(EWH, 1st ed., p.1173)
1965 Col. Jean-Bedel Bokassa,
commander of the army and minister of defense, was picked by France to
overthrow David Dacko when he began establishing close ties with China.
(SFC, 11/4/96, p.A22)
1966 Jean-Bedel Bokassa overthrew
his cousin, David Dacko, in a bloodless coup that was said to be backed
by the French. He abolished the 1959 constitution, dissolved the
National Assembly and concentrated power in the presidency.
(SFC, 5/22/96, p.A9)(SFC, 3/20/97, p.A24)
1972 Mar 2, Jean-Bédel
Bokassa appointed himself President for life of the Central African
Republic.
(www.etat.sciencespobordeaux.fr/_anglais/chronologie/centralafrican.html)
1977 Dec 4, Jean-Bedel Bokassa
(1921-1996), ruler of the Central African Empire, crowned himself
emperor in a ceremony duplicating the coronation of Napoleon. It was
believed to have cost more than $100 ($25) million. Bokassa was deposed
in 1979.
(AP, 12/4/97)(WSJ, 1/11/99,
p.R4)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-B%C3%A9del_Bokassa)
1979 Sep 20, In the Central
African Republic Jean-Bedel Bokassa was toppled in a French-backed
coup. 700 French paratroopers took control of Bangui while Bokassa was
away on a state visit to Libya.
(SFC, 5/22/96, p.A9)(SFC, 11/4/96, p.A22)(AP,
9/20/99)
1979 In the Central African
Republic some 100 school children were slaughtered following a protest
over expensive uniforms owned by one of the wives of Emp. Jean-Bedel
Bokassa.
(SFC, 10/11/03, p.A2)
1981 Mar, In the Central African
Republic David Dacko (1930-2003) was re-elected president. He was
overthrown in a bloodless coup in September.
(SFC, 5/22/96,
p.A9)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dacko)
1981 Sep 1, In the Central African
Republic army chief Andre Kolingba took over power in another coup. He
agreed to re-instate a multi-party system in 1991.
(SFC, 5/22/96,
p.A9)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Kolingba)
1986 In the Central African
Republic women gained the right to vote.
(Reuters, 12/03/05)
1986 Jean-Bedel Bokassa returned
to the Central African Republic from exile and was jailed for
embezzlement and murder after a trial in which he was accused of
cannibalism and infanticide.
(SFC, 5/22/96, p.A9)(SFC, 10/11/03, p.A2)
1993 Oct, In the CAR's first
democratic elections (organized with French help) Andre Kolingba was
voted out of office and Ange-Felix Patasse won the presidency. Patasse
was a member of the northern Bayas.
(SFC, 5/22/96, p.A9)(SFC, 12/9/96, p.A22)(WSJ,
1/10/97, p.A10)
1996 Apr, A dispute over pay
caused some 400 CAR soldiers to mutiny and rampage over the capital
city of Bangui.
(SFC, 5/5/96, p.T-8)
1996 May 19, French troops moved
into Bangui of the CAR to help quell an army uprising and protect
French citizens. Rebel troops called for the resignation of pres.
Patasse.
(SFC, 5/20/96, p.A-9)(SFC, 5/23/96, p. C2)
1996 May 20, In the CAR 2 French
soldiers were shot and wounded as they assisted French citizens to
evacuate. It was the second uprising by the army in two months and
seven people have been killed since fighting started.
(SFC, 5/21/96, p.A-11)
1996 Jun 5, Rivals signed an
accord to form a CAR unity government.
(WSJ, 6/6/96, p.A1)
1996 Nov 3, Jean-Bedel Bokassa
(75), former self-proclaimed emperor (1967-1979) of the Central African
Republic, died. He was called "the Ogre of Berengo."
(SFC, 11/4/96, p.A22)(MC, 11/3/01)(SSFC, 5/4/03,
p.M2)
1996 Dec 1, Army factions in
Bangui, CAR, began fighting. Rebel troops of the Yakoma tribe seized
key points.
(SFC, 12/2/96, p.A12)
1996 Dec 8, The CAR government and
army mutineers agreed to a 15-day truce. The rebel ranks were dominated
by the southern Bayas.
(SFC, 12/9/96, p.A22)
1997 Jan 5, In the CAR district of
Petevo, French troops killed 10 CAR army mutineers, after 2 French
soldiers were killed on a mediation mission.
(SFC, 1/6/97, p.A9)
1997 Jul 10, CAR Pres. Patasse
reconciled with 300 mutinous soldiers.
(WSJ, 7/11/97, p.A1)
1999 Ange-Felix Patasse was
re-elected president of the CAR.
(Econ, 5/26/07, p.52)
2000 Feb 10, The UN Security
Council officially ended the peacekeeping mission and established a CAR
support office to help consolidate peace.
(SFC, 2/11/00, p.D2)
2001 May 28, In the Central
African Republic at least 12 people were killed in a failed coup
attempt against Pres. Ange-Felix Patasse. 80 people in 2002 went on
trial for the attempted coup.
(SFC, 5/29/01, p.A12)(SFC, 2/15/02, p.A10)
2001 May 30, Libya flew troops and
weapons to the Central African Republic to help Pres. Patasse to put
down a coup attempt.
(WSJ, 5/31/01, p.A1)
2001 May 31, Security forces in
Bangui, CAR, went house to house in a search for coup conspirators.
Patasse blamed the opposition leader, a member of the Yacoma ethnic
group, for the coup attempt. One young Yacoma man was seen shot dead in
the street by soldiers.
(SFC, 6/1/01, p.D3)
2001 Jun 4, Fighting continued in
Bangui, CAR, with artillery fire exchanged.
(WSJ, 6/5/01, p.A1)
2001 Jun 6, Fighting continued in
Bangui, CAR, and some 50,000 civilians had fled to the forests. Food
was scarce and disease outbreaks were feared.
(SFC, 6/7/01, p.C2)
2001 Jul 5, Jean-Pierre Lhomme, a
UN security chief, was shot and killed in Bangui, CAR, as he aided a
fellow worker.
(SFC, 7/7/01, p.B1)
2001 Aug 26, It was reported that
the 62 children of Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the late emperor (1966-1979) of
CAR, sought to turn Bokassa’s empty palace into a tourist attraction.
(SFC, 8/27/01, p.A6)
2001 Nov 3, CAR presidential guard
units fought soldiers loyal to the former army chief of staff a day
after government forces tried to arrest the ousted general.
(WSJ, 11/5/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 5, In the Central African
Republic troops loyal to Gen. Francois Bozize fired mortar shells at
Pres. Patasse’s residence in Bangui and engaged government soldiers for
a 3rd day of fighting.
(SFC, 11/6/01, p.A14)
2002 Jul 4, In Bangui, CAR, a
Boeing 707 cargo plane crashed in a sparsely populated residential area
in this central African capital, killing at least 20 people.
(AP, 7/4/02)(SFC, 7/5/02, p.A14)
2002 Aug 26, In Bangui, Central
African Republic, former military ruler Gen. Andre Kolingba was
convicted in absentia of taking part in a failed 2001 coup and was
sentenced to death.
(AP, 8/26/02)
2002 Oct 24, In Bangui, Central
African Republic, rebels loyal to the deposed army chief of staff
fought members of the presidential guard and Libyan troops for control
of the airport.
(AP, 10/26/02)
2002 Oct 31, The Central African
Republic claimed to have put down a coup attempt by rebels backing
General Francois Bozize, an ousted army chief of staff.
(AP, 11/1/02)(Econ, 5/26/07, p.52)
2002 Nov 11, In the CAR a
baggage-laden roof of an overloaded river taxi near Kouango collapsed
on passengers, crushing 58 people.
(AP, 11/23/02)
2002 Dec 28, Libyan soldiers ended
a yearlong deployment to protect the Central African Republic
government against a string of coup attempts. They were to be replaced
by troops from Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon
and Mali.
(AP, 12/31/02)
2003 Mar 20, In the Central
African Republic Gen. Francois Bozizea asked his fighters to hand over
their weapons to troops from neighboring Chad, prompting the insurgents
to accuse their leader of betraying them.
(AP, 3/21/03)
2003 Mar 23, In the CAR Gen.
Francois Bozize said Abel Goumba (76), a veteran opposition leader,
will oversee daily operations in the government.
(AP, 3/23/03)
2003 Mar, In the CAR Gen. Francois
Bozize took power in a 2nd coup following 5 months of conflict during
which Pres. Patasse had enlisted support of rebel troops from the
Congo, led by Jean-Pierre Bemba, along with mercenaries from Chad and
Libya. Sexual violence during this period was particularly brutal.
(Econ, 5/26/07, p.52)
2003 Jun 27, The Central African
Republic's former PM fled after being granted asylum in France, ending
five months holed up in the French Embassy after a coup here.
(AP, 6/27/03)
2003 Oct 10, A Central African
Republic national forum recommended posthumous forgiveness for despot
Jean-Bedel Bokassa (d.1996), whose 13-year rule (1966-1979) ruined the
country. The vote followed an apology by Bokassa's son Jean-Serge (31).
(SFC, 10/11/03, p.A2)
2003 Nov 20, David Dacko (76), the
first president of Central African Republic as an independent nation
(1960-1966, 1979-1981), died.
(AP, 11/21/03)
2004 Mar 1, Jean-Bertrand Aristide
from the Central African Republic said in a telephone interview that he
was "forced to leave" Haiti by U.S. military forces.
(AP, 3/1/04)(SFC, 2/02/04, p.A1)
2004 Jul 12, Newspapers in Senegal
and the Central African Republic suspended publication to protest the
jailings of leading journalists.
(AP, 7/12/04)
2004 Jul 15, The Gates Foundation
announced a $44.7 million award at the AIDS Conference in Bangkok to a
consortium of TB and AIDS researchers. The 2 diseases were often
linked. A UN report cited 7 countries as the hardest hit by the AIDS
pandemic: Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zambia, Malawi, the Central
African Republic and Mozambique.
(WSJ, 7/15/04, p.B1)(SFC, 7/16/04, p.A6)
2004 Jul 25, Central African
Republic President Francois Bozize wrapped up a two-day visit to Sudan
with a pledge to help his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Beshir resolve
the crisis in the western Darfur region.
(AFP, 7/25/04)
2005 Mar 4, Tribes from western
Sudan and the neighboring Central African Republic signed a peace
charter in a bid to end cross-border clashes.
(AFP, 3/4/05)
2005 Mar 14, Voters in Central
African Republic cast ballots for president in the first poll since
rebels seized the capital two years ago. Gen. Francois Bozize, the
former army officer-turned-insurgent who now presides over the country,
was considered the front-runner in a field of 11.
(AP, 3/14/05)
2005 May 8, In Central African
Republic a coup leader who seized power in a rebel war two years ago
sought the presidency in a runoff election against a man representing
the former ruling party he ousted. The military strongman Francois
Bozize faces former PM Martin Ziguele in a poll that many hope will
bring an end to an era of army coups and revolts.
(AP, 5/7/05)
2005 May 24, In the Central
African Republic military strongman Francois Bozize won the May 8
runoff presidential runoff election, a move toward legitimizing his
rule two years after he seized power.
(AP, 5/24/05)
2005 Aug 6, In Central African
Republic an overloaded boat carrying hundreds of people has sunk on a
river, and at least 13 people were reported dead and dozens more
missing.
(AP, 8/9/05)
2005 Dec 3, It was reported that
the Central African Republic has ordered radio and television stations
to stop broadcasting songs which encourage men to dump their wives,
saying such music is a hindrance to the country's development.
(Reuters, 12/03/05)
2006 Mar 11, Authorities in
Central African Republic accused exiled former President Ange-Felix
Patasse of forming a rebel movement and recruiting fighters to
overthrow the government.
(AP, 3/13/06)
2006 Apr 14, The Central African
Republic said it has asked the International Criminal Court to
investigate crimes against humanity allegedly committed by its former
president and a Congolese vice president. Government spokesman Celestin
Gamou said CAR suspects ex-President Ange-Felix Patasse and Congo Vice
President Jean-Pierre Bemba of ordering or committing murder and rape
against civilians, as well as of embezzling funds and destroying public
and private property.
(AP, 4/14/06)
2006 Jun 26, An attack on an army
camp in the Central African Republic (CAR) resulted in 33 deaths. The
provisional toll included 11 CAR soldiers, two Chadian soldiers from
the multinational force FOMUC and 20 attackers.
(AFP, 6/27/06)
2006 Oct 27, The UN said it is
sending a mission to Chad and the Central African Republic to look at
operations to curb the escalating violence and help protect hundreds of
thousands of civilians.
(AP, 10/28/06)
2006 Nov 3, In Chad rebels intent
on toppling Pres. Francois Bozize took the town of Birao. They appeared
to be operating out of the Darfur region of Sudan.
(Econ, 11/11/06, p.54)
2006 Nov 4, The Central African
Republic's parliament called on the international community and France
in particular to aid it against rebels who have seized a northern town.
A rebel alliance, the Union of Democratic Forces for the Rally (UFDR)
said it had seized the northeastern town of Birao on Oct 30.
(AFP, 11/4/06)
2006 Nov 10, In the Central
African Republic the rebel Union of Democratic Forces for the Rally
(UDFR) seized the town of Ouadda Djalle on after heavy fighting with
government troops who were forced to retreat.
(AP, 11/10/06)
2006 Nov 13, France said it will
aid the Central African Republic's army with logistics and aerial
reconnaissance in its fight against rebels in the northeast of the
country.
(AFP, 11/13/06)
2006 Nov 18, Gabonese President
Omar Bongo said in a statement that the Central African Economic and
Monetary Community (CEMAC) had "acceded to a request from the Central
African Republic authorities to intervene in securing conflict zones."
CEMAC's members include the Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon,
Congo, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
(AFP, 11/18/06)
2006 Nov 23, A military official
said France has bolstered its presence in the Central African Republic
with 100 more troops following rebel attacks and growing concern over
the neighboring Darfur region of Sudan.
(AP, 11/23/06)
2006 Nov 22, Police in the west
African state of Benin arrested two rebel leaders from the Central
African Republic (CAR), whose forces are waging a violent offensive in
their home country. The leader of the rebel Union of Democratic Forces
for Unity, Michel Am Non Droko Djotodia, and his spokesman Abakar
Sabone, were apprehended in Benin's capital, Cotonou, under an
international arrest warrant. In 2008 President Boni Yayi asked for and
obtained the lifting of the international arrest warrant" for the two
rebel leaders.
(AP, 11/25/06)(AFP, 2/19/08)
2006 Nov 28, Government soldiers
in the Central African Republic were on the offensive, with French
military support, to seize back towns captured by rebels who have
steadily advanced from border territory.
(AP, 11/28/06)
2006 Nov 30, Central African
Republic government soldiers regained control of Ouadda, the second
town taken back from rebels, and pursued a counter-offensive northwards.
(AFP, 12/1/06)
2006 Dec 2, Government troops in
the Central African Republic said they have recaptured the town of Sam
Ouandja on the sixth day of a counter-offensive supported by French
troops, leaving rebels with only one major northeastern town, Ouadda
Djalle.
(AFP, 12/2/06)
2006 Dec 8, Government forces in
the Central African Republic, bolstered by French and African support,
recaptured the northeastern town of Sam Ouandja from rebels without
incident.
(AFP, 12/9/06)
2006 Dec 15, In Kenya 11 African
heads of state attending the 2nd International Conference on the Great
Lakes Region signed a landmark $2 billion (1.5-billion-euro) security
and development pact to forestall fresh violence in the area.
(AFP, 12/15/06)
2006 Dec 27, Central African
President Francois Bozize ordered the army to set fire to the homes of
two leaders of a dissident Baptist church, after they did the same to a
pastor's house, to teach them a lesson.
(AFP, 12/28/06)
2007 Jan 5, Chinese Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing met with Pres. Bozize of the Central African
Republic. Zhaoxing was set to sign a series of accords as part of
seven-nation tour highlighting China's increasing interest in the
African continent.
(AFP, 1/5/07)
2007 Jan 15, More than 100 rebels
attacked a northwestern town in the Central African Republic, sparking
the first fighting with government troops in more than a month.
(AP, 1/15/07)
2007 Feb 2, Abdoulaye Miskine, the
head of one of the Central African Republic's main rebel groups, inked
in Libya a peace deal described as "historic" by the government. Under
the deal, which CAR's other main rebel factions are expected to sign up
to, there will be an immediate ceasefire and Miskine's rebels will be
integrated into civilian life or absorbed into the army. Rebel
prisoners are to be freed.
(AFP, 2/3/07)
2007 Feb 13, Police and troops in
Bangui, CAR, used live ammunition to disperse residents angered at the
killing of two of their number by officers of the anti-banditry squad.
(AP, 2/14/07)
2007 Feb 15, A summit of African
leaders opened in Cannes on the French Riviera. The crisis in Darfur
and violence in Guinea overshadowed the summit, as well as perennial
issues of poverty, development and AIDS. France won agreement from
three involved African nations (Sudan, Chad and Central African
Republic) that they would not support armed rebel movements on each
other's territories.
(AP, 2/15/07)(AP, 2/15/07)
2007 Feb 23, Uganda's army said
that 400 rebel Lord's Resistance Army fighters and their leaders have
moved into the Central African Republic, dashing hopes of a renewal of
stalled peace talks.
(AP, 2/23/07)
2007 Mar 3, CAR rebel and
government military sources said rebels in the Central African Republic
have attacked the northeastern town of Birao, which they had occupied
for a month in November.
(AFP, 3/3/07)
2007 Mar 4, In the Central African
Republic French fighter jets destroyed several rebel vehicles in
retaliation for an attack on French troops.
(AP, 3/4/07)
2007 Mar 6, Central African
Republic forces (FACA) peacefully took back control of the airfield at
Birao that they had abandoned following rebel attacks at the weekend.
(AFP, 3/6/07)
2007 Apr 4, The United Nations
children's agency called for urgent action to tackle a "humanitarian
disaster" in the Central African Republic (CAR), affected by conflict
for the past ten years.
(AP, 4/4/07)
2007 Apr 13, A leading rebel in
the Central African Republic said he would be signing a peace deal with
President Francois Bozize in the northeastern town of Birao.
(AP, 4/13/07)
2007 Apr 26, Six central African
countries (Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Central African Republic,
Cameroon and Congo) plan to launch a common passport in July,
permitting the free movement of goods and people across their borders.
(AFP, 4/26/07)
2007 May 14, In the Central
African Republic the president's office said several former armed
rebels have surrendered to the authorities over the past few days in
the troubled north.
(AP, 5/14/07)
2007 May 18, UN officials said
rebel leaders in the Central African Republic have agreed to begin
sending several hundred child soldiers home to their families.
(AP, 5/18/07)
2007 May 19, Two local health
workers were kidnapped for ransom in the Central African Republic
(CAR), prompting UN concerns that worsening security was hampering aid
work there.
(AFP, 5/23/07)
2007 May 22, The International
Criminal Court prosecutor announced a war crimes investigation into
hundreds of rapes and other violations in the Central African Republic
in 2002 and 2003. The UN condemned the capture of two aid workers in
the north-west of the CAR, saying the worsening security was hampering
its humanitarian work in the country.
(AP, 5/22/07)
2007 May 30, In the northwest
corner of Central African Republic soldiers set fire to hundreds of
houses in retaliation for the killing of a local official by
unidentified gunmen. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that
about 420 children die each week, and that escalating conflict between
the CAR government and rebel groups has forced some 212,000 people to
flee their homes in recent years.
(AFP, 6/4/07)
2007 Jun 1, The UN refugee agency
said hundreds of women and children fled by foot and on donkeys from
Darfur to the neighboring Central African Republic after their town was
attacked by planes and helicopters. The refugees said their town of
Dafak, in southern Darfur, was attacked repeatedly by janjaweed militia
from May 12 to May 18 and that their homes had been bombarded by
airstrikes.
(AP, 6/1/07)
2007 Jun 6, The CAR government
freed 17 people who had been arrested for rebel activities, following
the terms of a peace accord that aims to return the restive nation to
stability after more than a year of sporadic insurgency.
(AP, 6/6/07)
2007 Jun 11, In the Central
African Republic a French aid worker for Doctors Without Borders was
shot and killed while traveling to a town grappling with poor health
conditions.
(AP, 6/11/07)
2007 Jun 17, CAR state radio said
former rebels in the Central African Republic have signed a pact with
the UN children's agency for the demobilization of hundreds of child
soldiers.
(AP, 6/17/07)
2007 Jul 23, The European Union
took the first step towards sending forces to Chad and the Central
African Republican to help the United Nations protect refugees trapped
in the violent region bordering Darfur.
(AP, 7/23/07)
2007 Sep 14, Human Rights Watch
said that soldiers in the Central African Republic (CAR) have massacred
hundreds of people and burned villages, forcing civilians to flee,
during a counter-insurgency campaign. The watchdog group blamed
President Francois Bozize's elite guard for atrocities carried out
since mid-2005, but said other military units, their rebel foes and
bandit groups were also guilty.
(AFP, 9/14/07)
2007 Sep 19, President Francois
Bozize of the Central African Republic (CAR) dubbed as "grotesque"
allegations from Human Rights Watch that his army was guilty of various
abuses against civilians in the country.
(AP, 9/19/07)
2007 Sep 25, The UN Security
Council unanimously passed a French resolution endorsing sending a
European Union-UN force to Chad and the Central African Republic to
protect civilians reeling from a spillover of the Darfur conflict.
(AP, 9/25/07)
2007 Oct 15, European Union
foreign ministers gave their final approval to deploy a 3,000-strong EU
peacekeeping force for one year to help refugees and displaced people
living along Darfur's borders with Chad and the Central African
Republic.
(AP, 10/15/07)
2008 Jan 11, Belgium, France and
Poland pledged to provide the resources needed to launch a European
Union peacekeeping force for Chad and the Central African Republic.
(AP, 1/11/08)
2008 Jan 18, Central African
Republic PM Elie Dote tendered his resignation and that of his
government. His resignation came amid a social crisis gripping the
country, marked by government disruptions and near-paralysis in public
schools due to a civil servant strike over salaries launched earlier
this month.
(AFP, 1/18/08)
2008 Jan 26, According to the
Int’l. Crisis Group, a Brussels-based lobby, the CAR has dropped below
the level even of a failed state.
(Econ, 1/26/08, p.46)
2008 Jan 28, The EU launched its
long-awaited peacekeeping force for Chad and the Central African
Republic to help protect hundreds of thousands of refugees from
strife-torn Darfur.
(AFP, 1/28/08)
2008 Jan, The population of Chad
was about 4 million. Bandits known as Zaraguina, mostly from Chad, were
reported to be looting, kidnapping and demanding thousands of dollars
in ransom for local cattle herders from the Peuhl tribe.
(Econ, 1/26/08, p.47)
2008 Feb 26, The mayor of Koui, a
town in northwest Central African Republic (CAR), was abducted along
with four other people. 3 captives including the mayor were later
killed. 2 captives were released by ransom.
(AFP, 3/14/08)
2008 Mar 5, In Central African
Republic rebels killed five government soldiers and lost one of their
own men in 2 days of clashes near the country's northwestern border
with Chad.
(Reuters, 3/7/08)
2008 Mar 15, Qatar-based
investment company IAS International said it was undertaking a series
of development projects in Central African Republic worth 1.6 billion
dollars.
(AP, 3/15/08)
2008 Mar 17, An EU force of 3,700
troops still deploying in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR)
announced the official start of its year-long mission to protect
refugees and displaced people. The EU force in Chad was known as EUFOR,
and the UN Mission there and the CAR was called MINURCAT.
(AFP, 3/17/08)(Econ, 5/31/08, p.52)
2008 Mar 19, Uganda said that
Lord's Resistance Army rebel leader Joseph Kony has left his base in
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and moved to the Central African
Republic.
(AP, 3/19/08)
2008 Mar 28, Jean-Jacques
Demafouth, an exiled former defense minister in the Central African
Republic, said that he had been elected head of the main rebel group
and would lead it into peace talks. The UN said rebel fighters attacked
CAR villages between Feb 9 and Mar 10 raping women and taking 150
hostages, including 55 children.
(AFP, 3/28/08)
2008 May 9, The government of
Central African Republic (CAR), plagued by unrest since 2005, and the
country's main rebel group signed a ceasefire and peace accord to take
effect immediately.
(AFP, 5/9/08)
2008 May 24, Belgian police in
Brussels arrested Jean-Pierre Bemba (45), a Congolese warlord and
ex-presidential candidate, after he was secretly charged with rape and
torture. Bemba was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as
head of a militia that allegedly committed atrocities in Central
African Republic's conflict in 2002-2003.
(AP, 5/25/08)
2008 Aug 16, Authorities in the
Central African Republic gave the green light for a leading rebel group
headed by a former defense minister to form a political party. Both the
rebel group and the new NAP party are headed by former defense minister
Jean-Jacques Demafouth, currently in exile in France.
(AFP, 8/16/08)
2008 Sep 11, A Paris court
convicted Didier Bourguet, a former UN employee, for the rape of young
Africans during his postings in Central African Republic and Congo.
Bourguet was sentenced to nine years in prison for having committed
about 20 rapes of teenage girls between 1998 and 2004 during his
postings as a mechanic for the UN.
(AP, 9/11/08)
2008 Sep 29, The parliament of the
Central African Republic (CAR) adopted an amnesty law aimed at laying
the foundations for a process of "inclusive political dialogue" between
the government and rebels.
(AFP, 9/30/08)
2008 Nov 11, At least 13 soldiers
were killed in an ambush by rebels at Kabo, near the Central African
Republic's border with Chad, 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Bangui.
(AFP, 11/12/08)
2008 Dec 7, Former Central African
Republic president Ange-Felix Patasse arrived in Bangui after 5 years
in exile in Togo to participate in long-delayed peace talks in the
troubled country.
(AFP, 12/8/08)
2008 Dec 20, Central African
Republic peace talks wrapped up with rebels and government officials
expressing hope that the meeting had paved the way for lasting
solutions to the country's unrest.
(AP, 12/20/08)
2009 Jan 12, War crimes
prosecutors in The Hague accused former Congolese vice president
Jean-Pierre Bemba of using systematic rape to terrorize civilians
suspected of supporting rebels during a bloody power struggle in
neighboring Central African Republic.
(AP, 1/12/09)
2009 Jan 14, The UN Security
Council authorized 5,200 UN peacekeepers to replace a 3,300-strong EU
force in Chad and Central African Republic, which have been seriously
affected by fighting in neighboring Sudan's Darfur region.
(AP, 1/14/09)
2009 Jan 18, Central African
Republic President Francois Bozize dissolved the government, after
pledging to form a unity government at recent peace talks.
(AFP, 1/18/09)
2009 Jan 19, CAR President
Francois Bozize reappointed Faustin-Archange Touadera as prime minister
of Central African Republic, just a day after the president dissolved
the government.
(AP, 1/19/09)
2009 Jan 20, The Central African
Republic's main opposition grouping said it refused to join PM
Faustin-Archange Touadera's government because he failed to play by
allegedly established rules.
(AFP, 1/20/09)
2009 Jan 30, In Libreville, Gabon,
leaders of the six Central African states (Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, CAR,
Congo, Equatorial Guinea), began meeting to discuss closer economic
ties, including the creation of a new regional airline. The Economic
and Monetary Union of Central Africa, known as CEMAC, planned
discussions on such issues as monetary reform and the free movement of
citizens.
(AFP, 1/30/09)
2009 Feb 14, Over 6,000 people
have fled the Ndele region of the Central African Republic for a
Chadian border village after violence erupted between two ethnic
groups, the Runga and the Gulus.
(AFP, 2/14/09)
2009 Mar 15, In Abeche, Chad, UN
forces took over command from EU peacekeepers to protect refugees and
displaced people in Chad and the Central African Republic.
(AFP, 3/15/09)
2009 Apr 12, In the Central
African Republic at least 22 people died as cattle farmers and traders
clashed over stolen oxen with guns, blades and arrows. Fighting was
sparked by a dispute over 170 oxen stolen by bandits 10 days earlier
but later retrieved.
(AFP, 4/12/09)(AFP, 4/14/09)
2009 Apr 14, In northwest Central
African Republic Soule Garga, a top representative of cattle breeders,
was been killed by rebels, just days after a poaching bloodbath left 22
people dead.
(AFP, 4/15/09)
2009 Apr 17, President Francois
Bozize of the Central African Republic accused some officials in his
Kwa na Kwa Convergence party of racketeering to obtain funds and
pledged a personal crackdown.
(AFP, 4/17/09)
Go to http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = CAR
End of file