In the Central African Republic (CAR), armed groups have perpetrated violence and human rights abuses. Armed conflict had internally displaced 451,000 people, with 750,000 people made refugees in neighboring countries, as of June 2024. Much of the violence has been caused by the Central African Republic Civil War which broke out in 2012 involving various rebel groups.
The CAR government, along with the UN, had been working to disarm former combatants. On July 10, 2025 two major armed groups, the Unity for Peace in Central Africa (UPC) and Return, Claim, Rehabilitation (3R), dissolved in the country’s capital city of Bangui following a peace agreement signed on April 19 between the two groups and the CAR government.
The CAR government and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) have since made major progress on disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, and repatriation (DDRR) programs in a few different areas of the country. Hundreds of former combatants from the village of Maloum and the sub-prefecture of Koui have been disarmed.
Former fighter Abdoulay Atair, from Maloum, told adf, “I joined the rebellion in Bambari in 2014 to protect ourselves, defend our property and ensure the safety of our families. But thanks to the agreement signed with the government, we have made a commitment to lay down our arms and actively contribute to building peace.”
Similarly, the operations in Koui, launched on July 18, The CAR government disarmed 75 fighters with the support of MINUSCA’s technical, logistical, and security assistance. The aim is to disarm approximately 300 ex-combatants from 3R, with efforts reinforced by local authorities actively involved in the process. Jonas Bissakounou, the leader of the government’s team in Koui, called on armed groups to come out of the bush and join the peace process, Barlaman Today reported.
Community engagement and local authority involvement are integral to the success of these programs. As noted by Koui’s sub-prefect, Lary-Nouradine Mahalba, strong local participation helps ensure the stability of the disarmament and reintegration initiatives. He stated that local authorities were “making sure this process, which is vital for peace, doesn’t collapse.”
Former combatants have gone through several key stages of the DDRR process, including handing over weapons, medical examinations, psycho-social support, identification, and remuneration. Only those who meet eligibility criteria will be integrated into CAR’s defense and security forces, or reintegrated into socio-economic activities. Ex-combatants who don’t meet eligibility requirements will benefit from the community violence reduction program, which provides vocational training and livelihood support.
The CAR government officially established its DDRR in December 2018, and adf reports that the total number of disarmed combatants stands at 5,540, with a target of 7,000 combatants from the 14 armed groups that signed the 2019 peace agreement.
In February 2025, Peace News Network (PNN) published an article about CAR’s failed journey towards truth and justice. CAR, Robert Kosho Ndiyun wrote, has been marked by a tumultuous and unstable trajectory since gaining independence in 1960. The CAR population has long had the unquenched thirst to know the truth about the legacies of human rights abuses perpetrated in the numerous coups and enduring cycles of violence in the country.
To come to terms with historical injustices and atrocities, the country has integrated truth-seeking in its transitional justice process. The first truth-seeking attempt in the CAR came in 2003 after two decades of successive politico-military violence between 1995 and 2003, with the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The second and most recent structure, the Truth, Justice, Reparation, and Reconciliation Commission (TJRRC), was created in 2020. To learn more about these efforts, read here.
Keywords: Central African Republic, CAR, Africa, disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, repatriation, DDRR, peace, conflict, conflict resolution
Tara Abhasakun
Tara Abhasakun is Peace News Network (PNN)'s managing editor. She is journalist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and formerly in Bangkok, Thailand. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
