Civil War in the Central African Republic  

Civil war is once again raging in the Central African Republic; the country that some years ago pretended to become an empire has practically never known peace since its independence from France in August 1960. 13,500 UN soldiers are barely maintaining a precarious situation that has already accumulated many thousands of deaths.  

Only in the capital, Bangui, could elections be held with a certain degree of normality on December 27, which resulted in the re-election, official but doubtful, for a second term, of President Faustin Archange Touadera.  There were many difficulties in holding them, hampered by incidents and clashes with rebel groups who boycotted the elections and did not accept the results.  

The rebel groups that have been mobilizing from the north for more than a decade have reappeared in recent months, overcoming their rivalries and clashes and uniting their disparate forces against the government, although it would be more accurate to say against the power structure that sustains it. The attacks have been carried out indistinctly between government supporters and opponents.  

Around Sedeka, the main armed resistance movement, various groups of different ethnic groups and rival tribes, ideologies and religions, mostly Muslim, but also with some Christian organizations, have joined forces. The incursion of jihadism into the conflict has been a further factor in stimulating the violence that has spread to all regions and major cities. 

Insurgents have blocked the roads linking Bangui with the rest of the country and have practically confined the capital, where the shortage of food and other basic necessities is generating protests and riots even among the upper class. Clashes with the police have left dead and wounded. The government has requested reinforcements from the United Nations, the African Union and Russia, which has discreetly infiltrated the country's politics and business.  

The Central African Republic appears in international rankings as one of the countries with the worst standard of living. However, it cannot be said to be a poor country. A large part of the territory offers good prospects for an agriculture that is poorly exploited and could provide sufficient resources to feed a population of barely five million inhabitants.  

The CR is a country rich in minerals and precious stones and, especially, diamonds. In the imperial years, French President Giscard d'Estaing received valuable gifts of diamonds from the self-proclaimed Emperor Jean Bedel Bokassa which led to a major scandal that nearly brought his presidency to an end.   

Some experts of the chronic chaotic situation suffered by the country attribute the political instability to mafia organizations that take advantage of the lack of control to manage the production, sale and clandestine exploitation of diamonds in the European markets without the income contributing to improve the living conditions of the citizens who often risk their lives in their extraction.