ECCAS leaders who met in Chad on Wednesday recommended an 18-month transition for the Central African Republic.

A delegation of ministers from the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, was expected in the Central African Republic, CAR yesterday, April 4, 2013 to begin discussions on implementing the decisions of this week’s summit in Ndjamena, Chad.

African Heads of State on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 refused to recognise former rebel leader, Michel Djotodia's self-appointment as President of Central African Republic. The leaders instead called for the creation of a new transitional body to guide the country to early elections, Reuters news agency reported.

Chadian President, Idriss Deby said the summit called for the drawing up of a new constitution and the holding of elections in 18 months. The plan, according to him, entails the creation of a body that will be elected by stakeholders. Members of this body will then designate their leader who will become the Transitional President of CAR until the holding of elections. Reacting to the decision, a spokesman for the political opposition, Edouard Kouyamounou, said they were waiting for ECCAS ministers to explain the plan and how it is expected to work. The opposition had earlier rejected Michel Djotodia’s new government, claiming that it was stacked with his allies.

Meanwhile, South African President, Jacob Zuma at the Ndjamena summit announced the imminent withdrawal of his country’s troops from CAR. Zuma has faced a barrage of criticisms for the deployment, following the death of 13 South African soldiers in Bangui 12 days ago while trying to defend the regime of François Bozizé. A Séléka military commander yesterday told Radio France Internationale, RFI that his forces actually killed over 30 South African troops in the March 24, 2013 battle for Bangui.

In a related development, US authorities yesterday offered a reward of Five million dollars (about FCFA 2.5 billion) for information leading to the arrest or capture of Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony. Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes. He and his fighters are thought to be in CAR or neighbouring countries. Earlier, the Ugandan Army announced the suspension of its search for Kony in CAR, blaming what it described as the hostility of the government of Michel Djotodia.