Central African Republic: Government says ex-president attempting coup d’état as rebels form new Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC)
Leaders of three main armed rebel groups occupying large areas of the Central African Republic announced a coalition ahead of next week’s elections, while the government accused former President Francois Bozize of an “attempted coup”.
The move to form a coalition, announced on Saturday, could further increase tensions already on the rise in the troubled country ahead of presidential and legislative votes on December 27, where the opposition fears massive electoral fraud.
The armed groups decided “to combine all of our movements into a single entity, called the Coalition of Patriots for Change or CPC, under a unified command”, they wrote in the statement.
The CPC invited “all other armed groups to join”. They also urged its members to “scrupulously respect the integrity of the civilian population” and to allow vehicles belonging to the United Nations and to humanitarian groups to circulate freely.