Since the March 24, 2013 coup by Séléka, the country’s woes seemed to have increased.

The Central African Republic, CAR, is today plagued by an untold humanitarian and security crisis following months of sectarian violence. One year after the March 24, 2013 coup by the Séléka coalition of rebel groups that was preceded by a short bush war, the country is in shambles.

However, some progress at restoring security has been made by African Union-led MISCA and French ‘Operation Sangaris’ troops. In a report released yesterday, March 24, 2014 on the first anniversary of the Séléka coup, Human Rights Watch, HRW, said thousands of civilians remain in dire need of immediate protection and assistance. It says international efforts to address the crisis remain woefully inadequate, with an urgent need to end impunity for ongoing abuses and ensure accountability for crimes committed by all parties.

With François Bozizé Yangouvondaout out of power, the new strong man of Bangui, Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia, soon found out that the task would not be easy as he and colleagues imagined. Séléka fighters never stopped to unleash a reign of terror on the hapless population, killing and pillaging almost everything in their way. The result was hundreds of people killed, thousands displaced and State across the country becoming virtually non-existent.

In response, the anti-Balaka Christian militia went into action in late 2013, beginning an endless slaughter of Moslems. The situation worsened after sub-regional leaders obliged Transitional President Djotodia to resign on January 10, 2014 over alleged lack of progress in the transition time table. The election of a consensus transitional leader, Catherine Samba-Panza, on January 20, 2014, did not change much on the ground – in spite of her appeals for peace and reconciliation.