Ali Darassa Mahamat (born 22 September 1978), also known as Ali Nassaraza Darassa, Ali Daras, and Ali Ndarass is a Nigerian leader of the Central African rebel group, the

Union for Peace in the Central African Republic Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC, french: Unité pour la paix en Centrafrique) is a rebel group in the Central African Republic which controls southern parts of the country. History UPC was formed on 17 September 2014 by A ...

(UPC), which is dominant around

Bambari Bambari is a town in the Central African Republic, lying on the Ouaka River. It has a population of 41,356 (2003 census) and is the capital of Ouaka prefecture. Bambari is an important market town and is home to Bambari Airport, and the R ...

. He is an ethnic

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

and his UPC is largely Fula. Darassa was the right-hand man of Chadian rebel leader, Abdel Kader Baba-Laddé until Baba-Laddé abandoned his armed struggle in September 2012. The UPC is an Ex-Séléka faction made up of disbanded members of the former rebel coalition known as

Séléka Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR was an alliance of rebel militia groups that subjugated the Central African Republic (CAR) on 24 March 2013. After its official dissolution in September 2013, the remaining rebel groups became known as Ex-Séléka. Sél� ...

. Starting in November 2016, another Ex-Séléka faction, the FPRC, allied with their former enemy, the Anti-balaka, and attacked UPC. The fighting displaced 20,000 and was ethnic in nature with the FPRC singling out

Fulani people The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

. He is reportedly well studied in past UN peacekeeping missions in order to deal with the peacekeeping mission known as

MINUSCA United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (also called MINUSCA, which is an initialism of its French name Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation en Ce ...

in the country. On 17 December 2021, the

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

said in a statement that it was seizing all of Ali Darassa's US assets, and criminalizing transactions with him "for serious human rights abuses", stemming from his leadership of the UPC.

References

1965 births Living people Fula people People of the Central African Republic Civil War African warlords Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List {{Nigeria-mil-bio-stub

See also

References