\n The government of Central African Republic on Wednesday signed a deal with armed groups in control of most of the country, aimed at ending a bloody, years-long conflict.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The first effect of this agreement is the cessation of all violence against civilians,\" President Faustin-Archange Touadera said at the signing ceremony, although he gave no details about the pact.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"For us, this day is a historic moment which enshrines the culmination of nearly three years of efforts,\" Touadera said, adding he was \"holding out a hand to our brothers and sisters in the armed groups.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Touadera said he would make a series of trips across the country \"to bring the message of peace to (our) compatriots\".\n<\/p>\n
\n The deal had been initialled in Khartoum on Tuesday after lengthy talks brokered by the African Union and supported by the United Nations.\n<\/p>\n
\n The leaders of the two biggest armed groups -- Ali Darassa of the Unity for Peace in Central African Republic (UPC) and Noureddine Adam of the Popular Front for the Renaissance of the Central African Republic (FPRC) -- initialled the text in Khartoum but were not present for Wednesday's signing.\n<\/p>\n
\n The ceremony took place in a room of the presidential palace where a large dais was installed, with a giant flag of the CAR as a backdrop.\n<\/p>\n
\n The accord is the eighth attempt in nearly six years to forge peace in the war-ravaged country -- one of the poorest in the world.\n<\/p>\n
\n The conflict has left thousands dead and forced a quarter of the population of 4.5 million from their homes. The rural exodus, the UN warned last year, could drive the country into famine.\n<\/p>\n
\n - History of failures -\n<\/p>\n
\n All seven previous peace agreements failed to stick.\n<\/p>\n
\n The last deal, forged in 2017 with the help of the Catholic Church, lasted less than a day before violence erupted anew, claiming nearly a hundred lives.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The real challenge will be following up this agreement,\" the head of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, cautioned on Wednesday.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It should not be the umpteenth (failed) agreement, as cynics say,\" he added. \"We will be very watchful about the effective application of it.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued a statement hailing the deal and urging CAR's neighbours and partners to support the peace process.\n<\/p>\n
\n But he also highlighted the need to consolidate the accord in its early phases, calling on \"all stakeholders to live up to their commitments in the implementation period.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Touadera said a truth and reconciliation commission -- a mechanism conceived years ago to help ease tensions -- would start its work \"by the end of the year\".\n<\/p>\n
\n The CAR plunged into crisis in 2012, when a mainly Muslim rebel movement called the Seleka rose in the north of the country.\n<\/p>\n
\n The following year, the insurgents overthrew President Francois Bozize, a Christian, triggering a predominantly Christian militia called the anti-Balaka.\n<\/p>\n
\n France, the former colonial ruler, intervened militarily under a UN mandate as fears grew of a Rwandan-style genocide.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Seleka were forced from power and in February 2016, Touadera, a former prime minister, was elected president.\n<\/p>\n
\n However militia groups, often portraying themselves as defenders of a community or religious group, still control some 80 percent of the country.\n<\/p>\n
\n Fighting often erupts between these forces over control of the country's lavish mineral resources, which range from gold and diamonds to uranium.\n<\/p>\n
\n Touadera is supported by 13,000 troops and police in the United Nations' MINUSCA mission, one of the UN's biggest peacekeeping operations.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Amnesty issue -\n<\/p>\n
\n One of the biggest stumbling blocks on the road to peace has been demands by rebel leaders to be granted amnesties -- a condition that Touadera, under pressure from western partners, has traditionally refused.\n<\/p>\n
\n Several leaders face UN sanctions or have been accused by rights groups of abuses, and others face the notional risk of arrest in CAR itself.\n<\/p>\n
\n A Special Criminal Court opened last year, tasked with determining cases involving violations of human rights or international humanitarian law committed since 2003, including war crimes and genocide.\n<\/p>\n
\n But it says its scope of work is likely to be limited by funds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The government of Central African Republic on Wednesday signed a deal with armed groups in control of most of the country, aimed at ending a bloody, years-long conflict. \"The first effect of this agreement is the cessation of all violence against civilians,\" President Faustin-Archange Touadera said at the signing ceremony, although he gave no details […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-40230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n