About 512 new soldiers of the Central African Republic army have successfully completed training and passed-out at a colourful ceremony in the capital Bangui.
The Rwanda Defence Force trained the 512 soldiers of the Central African Armed Forces (Forces armées centrafricaines; FACA).
Rwanda has its troops serving under UN peacekeeping Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) including under an existing bilateral agreement on defense.
The armed forces of the Central African Republic and have been barely functional since the outbreak of the civil war in 2012. The government has struggled to form a unified national army.
The military has played an important role in the history of Central African Republic.
The immediate former president, General François Bozizé was a former army chief-of-staff and his government included several high-level military officers.
Among the country’s five presidents since independence in 1960, three have been former army chiefs-of-staff, who have taken power through coups d’état.
The country’s first president, David Dacko was overthrown by his army chief-of-staff, Jean-Bédel Bokassa in 1966. Following the ousting of Bokassa in 1979, David Dacko was restored to power, only to be overthrown once again in 1981 by his new army chief of staff, General André Kolingba.
In 1993, Ange-Félix Patassé became the Central African Republic’s first elected president. He soon became unpopular within the army, resulting in violent mutinies in 1996–1997.
In May 2001, there was an unsuccessful coup attempt by Kolingba and once again Patassé had to turn to friends abroad for support, this time Libya and DR Congo.
