Peace talks to end chronic violence in the Central African Republic have begun in Khartoum Sudan as actors seek to remedy the crisis in the African country. In attendance are representatives of the government and 14 armed groups active in the country.
The meeting, brokered by the African Union after 18 months of exploratory work, will be the eighth bid in almost six years to forge peace. Since 2013, thousands have been killed and a quarter of the population of 4.5 million have fled their homes.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera controls only a fraction of the state, despite the support of more than 13 000 troops and police in the UN’s MINUSCA peacekeeping mission. The rest is held by militias, who typically portray themselves as defenders of a community or religious group but often fight over mineral wealth – a hoard that includes gold, uranium and diamonds – or livestock.
The conflict began in 2013, when a mainly Muslim rebel movement called the Seleka overthrew president Francois Bozize, a Christian – a move that triggered the rise of a predominantly Christian militia called the anti-Balaka. The talks, aimed at reaching an accord and setting up a follow-up committee, could last up to three weeks, according to Sudanese authorities.
