Central African Republic Withdraws Abusive Troops

Following Human Rights Watch’s exposure of abuses against civilians by the Central African Republic’s (CAR) military, the government was forced to withdraw most of the Presidential Guard, abusive elite forces, back to their barracks in the capital city of Bangui. The move came after we released a September report documenting how government troops – particularly the Presidential Guard – carried out hundreds of unlawful killings and burned thousands of homes during a counterinsurgency campaign in the north, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their villages. Our investigation drew significant attention to an almost completely neglected crisis. Newspapers in CAR serialized the entire report, devoting special editions to the coverage, and United Nations officials and French diplomats used it as the basis of advocacy meetings with the CAR government. France, which has provided uncritical military support to the CAR military, indicated that it is reconsidering its close relationship with CAR President François Bozizé. President Bozizé was forced to admit that his army was deeply involved in serious abuses, and invited our executive director to Bangui for talks on improving CAR’s human rights record.