The move is to enable the former ruling militia, Séléka, iron internal differences.

After recently carrying out extensive military restructuring, the former Moslem ruling militia in the Central African Republic, CAR, Séléka, are trying to present a more cohesive image by choosing new political leaders, Radio France International, RFI, reported yesterday, July 6, 2014.

The rebels have been meeting in the northern town of Birao since yesterday to sink their differences and also decide on the way forward in preliminary talks with their arch enemies; the largely Christian anti-Balaka militia. To this end, the signing of a joint declaration of intent by the two militias on initial peace talks scheduled for today, July 7, 2014, has been postponed indefinitely until Séléka is able to put its house in order, RFI said.

The two sides have been meeting in the capital, Bangui, since three weeks in a bid to seek some level of mutual understanding in readiness for forthcoming national reconciliation talks scheduled for Brazzaville in Congo. In a broadcast on Friday, July 4, 2014, following last month’s mini-summit on her country by sub-regional leaders in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Transitional President Catherine Samba-Panza, restated that she was still in control of the situation in CAR.

Responding to accusations that sectarian violence had grown out of hand, Samba-Panza reaffirmed her belief in “political dialogue at the top, reconciliation at the grassroots and justice in the middle” as the solution to the country’s crisis. She warned that for lasting peace to return, masterminds of violence must be prosecuted, adding that participation in forthcoming political reconciliation should not be seen as compensation for violence and impunity.