The Coalition of Patriots for Change (''Coalition des patriotes pour le changement'') is a coalition of major rebel groups in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

created in 2020 to disrupt the 2020–21 Central African general election.

Background

On 3 December 2020, the Constitutional Court of the Central African Republic rejected the candidature of former president François Bozizé in the upcoming presidential elections. On 4 December, François Bozizé met with

Mahamat al-Khatim Mahamat Al-Khatim is a leader of Central African Patriotic Movement armed group in the Central African Republic. Biography Mahamat Al-Khatim is a Baggara Arabs, Chadian Arab belonging to the Salamat ethnic group. At some point, he rebelled agai ...

, leader of the

Central African Patriotic Movement Central African Patriotic Movement (MPC, french: Mouvement patriotique pour la Centrafrique) is a rebel group in the Central African Republic based in nortwestern part of the country. History MPC was formed in July 2015 by Mahamat Al-Khatim. I ...

(MPC), in Kaga-Bandoro before leaving for his stronghold, Bossangoa.

History

On 15 December 2020, major rebel groups in the Central African Republic including

Anti-balaka The Anti-balaka is an alliance of militia groups based in the Central African Republic in the early 21st century said to be composed primarily of Christians. However, some church leaders have contested the claimed exclusively Christian character ...

, UPC, FPRC, 3R and MPC created a coalition. Since then, the group seized many towns including Yaloke and Bossembele. Bambari was temporarily seized by rebels. On 25 December, rebels killed three peacekeepers in Dekoa and Bakouma. Due to rebel attacks, elections did not take place in many areas of the country. Some 800 of the country's polling stations, 14% of the total, were closed due to violence, and during the first round, voting was unable to take place in 29 of the 71 sub-prefectures, while six others only managed to partially vote before being shut down due to voter intimidation. On 15 January, rebels attacked Bangui killing one peacekeeper before being repelled by international forces. On 21 March, the coalition announced that Bozizé had become the group's "general coordinator". On 6 April UPC reportedly left Coalition of Patriots for Change, but officially rejoined in early December 2021.Centrafrique : la rébellion de la CPC en ordre de bataille
12 December 2021

References

{{Reflist Factions of the Central African Republic Civil War Rebel groups in the Central African Republic Rebel groups that actively control territory