Faustin-Archange Touadéra in the context of Wagner Group

The Central African Republic Civil War is an ongoing civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR) involving the successive governments, rebels from the former Séléka coalition, the Anti-balaka militias, and various foreign and international forces.

In the preceding Central African Bush War (2004–2007), the government of President François Bozizé fought with rebels until a peace agreement in 2007. The current conflict arose when a new coalition of varied rebel groups, known as Séléka, accused the government of failing to abide by the peace agreements, captured many towns in 2012 and seized the capital in 2013. Bozizé fled the country, and the rebel leader Michel Djotodia declared himself president. Renewed fighting began between Séléka and militias opposed to them called Anti-balaka. In September 2013, President Djotodia disbanded the Séléka coalition, which had lost its unity after taking power, and resigned in 2014. He was replaced by Catherine Samba-Panza, but the conflict continued. In July 2014, ex-Séléka factions and Anti-balaka representatives signed a ceasefire agreement. By the end of 2014, the country was de facto partitioned with the Anti-Balaka controlling the south and west, from which most Muslims had evacuated, and ex-Séléka groups controlling the north and east. Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who was elected president in 2016, ran and won the 2020 election, which triggered the main rebel factions to form an alliance opposed to the election called the Coalition of Patriots for Change, which was coordinated by former president Bozizé. Peacekeeping largely transitioned from the ECCAS-led MICOPAX to the African Union-led MISCA to the United Nations-led MINUSCA, while the French peacekeeping mission was known as Operation Sangaris. In July 2025, a peace agreement was achieved, in which 3R and UPC, the two largest remaining rebel groups, disarmed and dissolved in a public ceremony.