The leaders of the two biggest armed groups — Ali Darassa of the Unity for Peace in Central African Republic (UPC) and Noureddine Adam of the Popular Front for the Renaissance of the Central African Republic (FPRC) — initialled the text in Khartoum but were not present for Wednesday’s the signing ceremony. The accord is the eighth attempt in nearly six years to forge peace in the war-ravaged country — one of the poorest in the world. The conflict has left thousands dead and forced a quarter of the population of 4.5 million from their homes. The Seleka were forced from power and in February 2016, Touadera, a former prime minister, was elected president. Touadera is supported by 13,000 troops and police in the United Nations’ MINUSCA mission, one of the UN’s biggest peacekeeping operations.

Source: Punch February 06, 2019 16:52 UTC