Briefing on the Situation in the Central African Republic
Briefing on the Situation in the Central African RepublicDate | 31 August 2026
Tomorrow (1 September), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will receive a briefing on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Following opening remarks by Hervé Djokpe, Permanent Representative of Benin to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for September, Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), is expected to deliver a statement. Alice Nzomukunda, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission for CAR, may brief the Council. Representatives of CAR and the Economic Community of the Central African States (ECCAS), as well as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the AU and Head of the UN Office to the AU (UNOAU), are also expected to deliver statements.
The PSC last discussed the situation in CAR during its 1338th session on 9 April, following the conclusion of the combined presidential, legislative, and local elections organised on 28 December 2025 and the inauguration in March of Faustin Archange Touadéra, who was re-elected as President. In its communiqué adopted following the meeting, the PSC welcomed progress in the country’s political trajectory and commended the AU Commission for its support to the electoral process.
Since then, Touadéra reappointed Félix Moloua as prime minister in May, who subsequently formed a new 33-member government comprising six women and several individuals associated with armed groups that have recently joined the peace process. These include Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R) and l’Unité pour la paix en Centrafrique (UPC), which ceased hostilities in April 2025 and joined the 2019 Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic (APPR-RCA).
The implementation of the APPR-RCA, particularly the Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintegration and Repatriation (DDRR) programme, is also making progress following the decision of 3R and UPC to rejoin the peace process. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) is supporting the DDRR programme as part of its mandated tasks. According to the latest Secretary-General’s report on the country, more than 1000 former combatants affiliated with these groups, as well as members of other armed groups and factions, have been disarmed and demobilised since July 2025. The DDRR programme is believed to have contributed to an overall improvement in the security situation in the CAR.
However, the security situation remains fragile in parts of the country, particularly in the north-west, centre and east. Armed group activity, cross-border security dynamics, criminality, and persistent tensions between herders and farmers continue to threaten civilian lives and undermine stability. The situation is compounded by the limited presence and capacity of state security institutions, which leave communities vulnerable to attacks, intimidation and other forms of violence.
Residual UPC combatants have also reportedly continued to obstruct freedom of movement, hindering humanitarian access and disrupting civilian livelihoods. Their presence has contributed to tensions between pastoralist and farming communities.
In addition, armed groups that remain outside the peace process continue to pose significant threats in western and central parts of the country. These groups have reportedly targeted the CAR security forces, attacked or intimidated displaced civilians, and disrupted local election campaigns. The continued activities of these groups therefore remain a significant obstacle to the consolidation of peace, the extension of state authority and the creation of a secure environment for the country’s political and electoral processes.
The Azande Ani Kpi Gbe (AAKG), a predominantly ethnic Azande militia accused of committing serious human rights violations against minority communities, remains a major security concern in the south-east. At the same time, combatants belonging to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the Ugandan armed group that has operated in the Central African Republic for years, have reportedly renewed their military activities in the region. Their resurgence is particularly concerning given the LRA’s longstanding record of attacks against civilians, abductions and other abuses.
In the north-east, the spillover effects of the conflict in neighbouring Sudan remain a major concern. The conflict has increased insecurity along the border and contributed to the movement of armed elements, weapons and displaced populations into the Central African Republic. There have also been reports of clashes between local self-defence groups and Sudanese armed elements associated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Despite these persistent security risks, there appears to be an assumption that the CAR has entered a post-conflict phase, with overall improvements in its security situation and the completion of national electoral processes. This development has also prompted discussions in New York on the reconfiguration of MINUSCA, including a possible adjustment of its footprint to adopt a more agile posture. These discussions are also taking place against the backdrop of a major liquidity crisis facing the UN.
At the Security Council, the US has particularly argued that MINUSCA should accelerate its efforts to cease activities that are no longer considered necessary and, where possible, transfer responsibilities to the CAR authorities or other stakeholders. Security Council resolution 2800 of 13 November 2025, which most recently renewed the mission’s mandate for another year, also requested the Secretary-General to submit a report by 15 September on the opportunity and feasibility of an eventual handover of tasks to the CAR government or the UN Country Team (UNCT). In this context, the mission has already begun implementing several measures, including handing over certain static security responsibilities to national authorities, closing several facilities—including one of its main sites in Bangui—and redeploying troops and assets to areas experiencing insecurity.
While recognising that the mission needs to adjust to developments on the ground, the host country has cautioned against implementing drastic measures driven solely by budgetary considerations at a time when the CAR continues to face persistent security risks, including the spillover effects of the war in Sudan. In this connection, its Permanent Representative in New York has invited Council members to visit the country to better understand the progress made and the challenges that remain, ahead of MINUSCA’s mandate renewal in November.
At its last meeting, the PSC expressed similar concerns over the financial challenges facing MINUSCA, which have led to reductions in civilian and military personnel, limited air rotations, deferred maintenance, reduced long-distance patrols, and the closure of some military bases. The PSC also warned that these constraints could create pockets of vulnerability and a real risk of a security vacuum. That is why it supported MINUSCA’s continued presence, given the mission’s important role in supporting the CAR’s stabilisation and peacebuilding efforts and called on the Security Council to renew MINUSCA’s mandate.
The PSC particularly directed the AU Commission to undertake a comprehensive study on the potential impact of a MINUSCA drawdown and propose concrete recommendations on the way forward. As the AU is one of the guarantors of the APPR-RCA, the PSC underscored the need to prevent any resumption of hostilities and develop a strategy for AU-led stabilisation support. The Commission’s report and recommendations are likely to inform the PSC’s deliberations tomorrow. The meeting also takes place ahead of the Secretary-General’s report, due by 15 September, which is expected to inform the Security Council’s decisions on MINUSCA’s potential drawdown and reconfiguration in the context of the mission’s upcoming mandate renewal in November. The outcome of the PSC meeting is expected to feed into the UN Security Council’s October discussions on the situation in the CAR and MINUSCA’s activities. It is also likely to help shape the common position of the three African members of the Security Council during these discussions and the mandate renewal negotiations.
The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. The PSC may welcome the progress made in the political and peace processes in the Central African Republic, including the formation of a new government incorporating representatives associated with armed groups that have rejoined the peace process, and commend the progress achieved in the implementation of the APPR-RCA, particularly the DDRR programme. It may commend MINUSCA for its continued support to the peace process and DDRR efforts, while encouraging the CAR authorities and all relevant stakeholders to sustain the momentum towards the full implementation of the APPR-RCA. The PSC may also express concern over the continued fragility of the security situation in parts of the country and call for strengthened efforts to address these threats, protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access. Against the backdrop of discussions on the possible reconfiguration and drawdown of MINUSCA, the PSC may underscore that any adjustment of the mission’s presence should be conditions-based, carefully sequenced and informed by developments on the ground, rather than driven primarily by financial considerations, to avoid creating security vacuums and undermining the gains made in the peace process. It may reiterate its support for MINUSCA’s continued presence and call on the UN Security Council to ensure that any transition is accompanied by adequate measures to strengthen the capacity of national institutions and preserve the protection of civilians.