He is holding consultation sessions with armed groups in the country.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic has started preparing the grounds for the disarmament of armed groups, demobilising them and reintegrating their fighters into the country’s army and security forces.
He had discussions with one of the factions of the rebel group, Seleka led by Nourredine Adam on April 24. RFI cited Touadera of telling representatives of the armed group that they should give him six months to lay a solid framework for the disarmament, demobilization and re-integration programme.
Appropriate time is indeed needed to prepare for the effective implementation of the programme. This is because the turbulence in the Central African Republic was masterminded by the two rival armed groups; Seleka and Anti-balaka. Besides these groups, there were also isolated rebel groups that have been noted for carrying out sporadic armed attacks and abductions of the local population in the country. Therefore, to launch the disarmament programme, it would be important to agree on the armed groups that do not want to drop their requests. For example, the different factions of the Seleka group insist on better representation in government, cabinet positions, particularly targeting the livestock and public health sectors.
The success of the disarmament, demobilization and re-integration of armed groups will be an important aspect in boosting the country’s army that is currently being reconstituted and consolidated. The European Union recently launched the training mission of the army that will take over defence and security issues in the country from the UN peacekeeping force MINUSCA, French force Sangaris and other forces that intervened to bring peace, order and stability during the two years of serious sectarian fighting. The mission, following a release from European Union Defence Ministers, sets out to modernize the army of the Central African Republic, make it effective, inclusive and democratically responsible.
