Séléka

For the town in Botswana, see Seleka, Botswana.
Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR
Participant in Central African Republic Civil War
Active September 2012–present
Groups
Leaders Michel Djotodia
Joseph Zoundeiko (military wing)
Opponents

Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR is an alliance of rebel militia factions[1] that overthrew the Central African Republic (CAR) government on March 24, 2013.[2][3][4] Séléka leader Michel Djotodia became the nation's president from March 2013 until his resignation in January 2014.[5][6] Members of Séléka are almost entirely Muslim.[7][8][9][10]

Name

The word Seleka means "Coalition" in Sango, one of the CAR's two national languages, the other being French.[11][12] The international media has shortened the full name Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR to la Séléka in French or often Seleka in English.

The term Séléka had been used previously in CAR politics when Jean-Jacques Démafouth launched the political party New Alliance for Progress (French: Nouvelle Alliance pour le Progrès) with the Sango name Fini Seleka.[13]

Background

The rebel coalition originated in an agreement signed between factions of the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP) and the Patriotic Convention for Saving the Country (CPSK), two of the CAR's many anti-government militias on August 20, 2012.[14] CPJP in this case refers to the "Fundamental" splinter group of the CPJP, one of many militias involved in the CAR's long-running civil war. A different faction of the CPJP signed a peace accord with the government on August 25, 2012.

The Seleka first emerged on September 15, 2012 under the name alliance CPSK-CPJP, when it published a press release taking responsibility for the attacks on three towns that day.[15] It was the last of the major rebel groups to do so.[16] The CPSK was hardly known.[16] On December 15, 2012 the group published its first press release using the full name "Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR" thus including the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR). Two groups that did not appear in the title, the long-standing militia Democratic Front of the Central African People (FDPC), and the newly minted Alliance for Revival and Rebuilding (A2R), were also reportedly part of the alliance.[5]

The Seleka weren’t an overtly religious movement, but they were mostly Muslim, as was Michel Djotodia, the president they installed in March 2013 after taking power. The fighters that ushered in Djotodia ran wild across the country during his time in office, plundering villages and killing Christians as well as supporters of the former president Francois Bozize.[17]

In September 2013 Michel Djotodia announced that Seleka had been dissolved.[18] The disbanded group has dispersed into the countryside and have been committing mass atrocities according to Human Rights Watch.[19][20][21][22][23] Executions, rape and looting by ex-Seleka fighters after the coup and disbanding have fomented religious tension where the population is 80% Christian.[24] Christian militias, using the name anti-balaka, have been formed to fight the Muslim Seleka.[8][9][19] The United Nations is considering sending troops to stop the atrocities.[25] On November 26, France indicated that it would boost its presence an additional 1,000 soldiers in the Central African Republic to augment its existent 400 troops if it receives U.N. backing.[26]

On September 18, 2013, the Seleka, a coalition of rebel groups that took power in the Central African Republic in March, has killed scores of unarmed civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Seleka has also engaged in wanton destruction of numerous homes and villages. The 79-page report, The Forgotten Human Rights Crisis in the Central African Republic,” details the deliberate killing of civilians – including women, children, and the elderly – between March and June 2013 and confirms the deliberate destruction of more than 1,000 homes, both in the capital, Bangui, and in the provinces. Many villagers have fled their homes and are living in the bush in fear of new attacks. Human Rights Watch documented the deaths of scores of people from injuries, hunger or sickness.

“Seleka leaders promised a new beginning for the people of the Central African Republic, but instead have carried out large-scale attacks on civilians, looting, and murder,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “What’s worse is that the Seleka have recruited children as young as 13 to carry out some of this carnage.”

On May 28, 2014, the Seleka members threw grenades before shooting indiscriminately at the Church of Fatima in the capital Bangui, killing at least 11 people.[27] In July 2014, the government of Uganda declared that it was at war with Seleka, accusing them of forcing civilians to give food and medicine to the Lords Resistance Army and of trading ivory and minerals with them. Seleka denied the accusation.[28]

Seleka leader Abdoulaye Issene said in an interview that: "We have killed, murdered and violated, but what happenend, happened".[29][30]

On November 9, 2015, armed men cut the throats of 10 people in the village of Ndassima before carrying out an overnight attack nearby in Mala. Local administrator Yves Mbetigaza said "They came from two places, some from Bambari and others from Mbres." While a report on national radio described the attackers only as armed members of the Fula ethnic group (in French: Peul), Mbetigaza said they were Seleka fighters, adding that eight villagers were kidnapped in Mala and dozens of others were missing. On November 12, six hunters were killed in the village of Bandambou.[31]

Conflict

Aftermath

General Ousmane Mamadou Ousmane was the president of a commission tasked with bringing military reform within Seleka.[32]

Notes

  1. ↑ RFI 2012-12-20.
  2. ↑ RFI 2013-12-31.
  3. ↑ Pflanz 2013.
  4. ↑ Châtelot 2013.
  5. 1 2 RFI 2013-03-24.
  6. ↑ Reuters 2013-03-24.
  7. ↑ The Guardian: "Unspeakable horrors in a country on the verge of genocide - Militias in the Central African Republic are slitting children's throats, razing villages and throwing young men to the crocodiles. What needs to happen before the world intervenes?" by David Smith November 22, 2013
  8. 1 2 The Economist: "The Central African Republic - Ever darker" November 8, 2013
  9. 1 2 BBC: "Central African Republic: Religious tinderbox" November 4, 2013
  10. ↑ Africa Report: "CAR: Muslim-Christian tension on the rise, since coup" By Konye Obaji Ori November 6, 2013
  11. ↑ AFP 2013-01-01.
  12. ↑ Bouquiaux 1978, p. 307no entry exists for seleka between "sèlègbhia" (embassy) and "sèlèngbè (suffix)
  13. ↑ Démafouth 2006.
  14. ↑ Ibrahim & Abdraman 2012.
  15. ↑ Alkassim 2012.
  16. 1 2 RFI 2012.
  17. ↑ For Bangui's last Muslims, to stray outside the safe haven is to court death. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  18. ↑ CAR’s Djotodia dissolves Seleka rebel group
  19. 1 2 Human Rights Watch: "Central African Republic: War Crimes by Ex-Seleka Rebels - Hold Commander Accountable for Attack on Town" November 25, 2013
  20. ↑ Zambia City Press: "The killing fields of CAR" by Nazanine Moshir November 10, 2013
  21. ↑ The Hindu: "CAR tense as rebels wreak havoc" by David Smith November 27, 2013
  22. ↑ La Nouvelle Centra Afrique: "The Central African Republic: Ever darker" November 18, 2013
  23. ↑ SBS: "We live and die like animals: The Central African Republic" By Peter Bouckaert November 17, 2013
  24. ↑ Malay Online: "Hundreds of vigilantes attack town in Central African Republic October 26, 2013
  25. ↑ Christian Today: "UN considers sending force to Central African Republic" November 26, 2013
  26. ↑ Chicago Tribune: "France to boost Central African force with U.N. backing" by Leigh Thomas and Joe Penney November 26, 2013
  27. ↑ CAR Seleka rebels kill many in Bangui church attack. BBC. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
  28. ↑ Yahoo News: "Uganda says Seleka now its enemy as it hunts LRA in Central African Republic" By Elias Biryabarema and Crispin Dembassa-Kette July 1, 2014
  29. ↑ http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refdaily?pass=52fc6fbd5&id=53bf786c8
  30. ↑ http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refdaily?pass=52fc6fbd5&date=2014-07-11&cat=Africa
  31. ↑ At least 22 dead in Central African Republic village attacks. Nov 13, 2015. Reuters. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  32. ↑ http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/01/car-leader-pledges-talks-with-armed-groups-201412285543966125.html

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