Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy (APRD) Armée populaire pour la restauration de la démocratie 

Origins

The APRD formed in reaction to the controversial 2005 elections legitimising General Bozizé as President following his military coup of 15 March 2003. Proceeding the adoption of a new Constitution in December 2004, presidential elections were to be held in May 2005. Twelve candidates expressed their intention to run, including self-proclaimed President General Bozizé as well as deposed President Patassé. At this stage, the Transitional Constitutional Court in Bangui rejected seven of the twelve candidatures, excluding former President Patassé and his former ministers on the basis of technicalities. This controversial decision gave rise to a political crisis which ended following the mediation of Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba. However, even after the mediation, former President Patassé remained the only candidate excluded from running. Although the voting itself, leading to the confirmation of Bozizé as President with a vote of almost 65 percent, was seen as free and fair by the international community, the exclusion of Patassé from the process was unacceptable to Patassé supporters. The contestation turned in rebellion soon after the elections in north-western CAR, Patassé’s home area; the first fighting between rebels and the Central African Armed Forces (FACA, Forces armées centrafricaines) started in June 2005.
Another major cause of the armed rebellion is linked to the chronic insecurity in north-western CAR. The population is often attacked by road bandits, known as zaraguinas, who loot villages and kidnap civilians for ransom. Due of the failure of the FACA to provide for protection against these attacks, local communities have set up self-defence units, some of which have been integrated to the APRD.
Finally, a third reason for the strengthening and continuation of the rebellion are the exactions committed by the FACA against north-western CAR population, accused of supporting the rebels, in retaliation for APRD’s raids. Government troops, and especially elements of Bozizé’s Presidential Guard, have been accused of numerous summary executions and widespread village burnings. These atrocities, combined with a scorched-earth policy, have forced the population to flee to the bush where they survive in critical conditions. As a result, many FACA victims retaliate against these injustices by joining the rebellion.

 

Location / Main area of operation

The APRD is active in the north-western CAR provinces of Ouham, Ouham-Pendé, and Nana-Grébizi. In particular, the group mainly operates in the Paoua-Boguila-Markounda area of Ouham and Ouham-Pendé provinces, and the Batangafo-Kabo-Ouandago-Kaga Bandoro area of Ouham and Nana-Grébizi provinces. Moreover, APRD also operates outside CAR, as some of its leaders have been living abroad in exile, namely in Mali while the group's then-leader, Lieutenant Florian Ndjadder, resided there. The group is currently led from France where Ndjaber's successor, President Jean-Jacques Démafouth, now resides.  

Objectives

Observers agree that the APRD had no precise political demands until recently. Its objectives echoed the reasons why the movement was set up. Rebels claimed they sought to engage in a dialogue with the government to address the political exclusion of Patassé and his supporters and, more importantly, to restore peace and security in the northwest regions, rather than to overthrow the government. However, the newly elected APRD President Jean-Jacques Démafouth has recently expressed his political ambitions for a “common programme” to administrate the country, thus introducing more elaborated, though still fairly vague, objectives in this regard.  

Number of Members

As of December 2007, estimates of the number of APRD members ranged from 300 (according to government reports) to 1,000 (as claimed by the group) . However, among these estimates, it is known that the group recruits and uses child soldiers. The group is poorly equipped, with only 200 rebels armed with AK-47 semi-automatic rifles, and another 600 with home-made 12-caliber hunting weapons, bows and arrows. Currently, the APRD does not appear to possess any military vehicles or heavy weaponry.  

Type : National

Despite the overseas location of some of its leaders, APRD’s field of operation is purely of an internal nature, namely in north-western CAR. Moreover, the group has continuously denied receiving any external support, which is often confirmed by the poor state of their equipment.  

Conflict Status : PeaceAccord

On 9 May 2008, the APRD and the government of Bangui signed a ceasefire and peace accord.   After similar agreements signed with Abdoulaye Miskine (FDPC, Front démocratique pour le peuple centrafricain) in Syrte on 2 February 2007 and Zacharia Damane (UFDR, Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement) in Birao on 13 April 2007,    the APRD was the only remaining active group in RCA.   This signing is part of a year-long process which started with the proposal of the “Panel of the Wise” in March 2007 to hold an inclusive dialogue to resolve the political and military crises besetting the country.   
Following this proposal, several national and international organizations, such as the United Nations Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA, Bureau des Nations Unies en Centrafrique), organized several consultations to reach a consensus on the modalities of the proposed dialogue, namely the establishment of a preparatory committee, the need for an all-inclusive process, and guarantees of effective implementation of its outcome.  On 8 October 2007, President Bozizé signed the decree establishing the preparatory committee.   This 25-member organ was composed in a manner so that all parties involved in the crisis are represented, including three seats for the armed groups.   
As a result of these promising efforts, some APRD elements agreed to lay down their arms and engage in peace talks,  although the designation of a representative for the group to the preparatory committee took place only by March 2008, with the nomination of Bienvenue Dokoto by then-President of the APRD Jean-Jacques Démafouth.  Following the recommendations of the preparatory committee and the mediation of UN Secretary General Special Representative François Lonsény Fall, who maintained a channel of discussion, the APRD and the CAR government finally reached an agreement on 9 May 2008.   This ceasefire and peace accord, signed in Libreville (Gabon), was significantly aided through the mediation of Gabonese President Omar Bongo Ondimba, also President of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC, Communauté économique et monétaire de l’Afrique centrale, now known as CEEAC-ECCAS) ad hoc committee on CAR.   
The agreement is composed of 7 articles. It entered into force at the date of its signature (article 7) and provides for:
• the immediate halt of hostilities (ceasefire)(article 1)
• the stop of all pending prosecutions against APRD members through the adoption of a general amnesty law and the release of those currently detained (article 2)
• the cantonment of rebel forces while awaiting integration into the national army, the reinstatement of civil servants, the reintegration of people displaced by the conflict, an emergency plan for the rehabilitation of conflict affected areas (articles 2 and 3)
• the setting up of a follow-up commission, which will help in the implementation of the accord (article 5), with an appeal possible to the President of the CEMAC ad hoc committee who will decide in last resort (article 6). 

This agreement should be followed by a general peace agreement between the government and the three main rebel groups (FDPC, UFDR, APRD) in the course of June 2008.   It was a necessary step before reaching the final inclusive political dialogue according to the recommendations made by the preparatory committee.   The peace agreement has been welcomed by Toby Lanzer, the UN humanitarian coordinator in CAR,   and the African Union Commission, which has encouraged the parties to implement it effectively.   However, the accord has attracted much more scepticism from national observers, particularly concerning the question of justice and/or compensation to the victims, as well as its concrete effects on the current humanitarian crisis.

 

Structure of the organization

The APRD is largely composed of elements of former President Patassé’s Presidential Guard on one hand, and local self-defence groups on the other hand. At the basic level, it is organized in groups of 10 to 15 poorly equipped members led by one armed commander. Within its higher echolons, the APRD is led by one remote maximum leader and two military commanders on the ground, one being in charge of the group’s communication. In March 2008, the APRD elected a new President, Jean-Jacques Démafouth, former Defence Minister to Patassé, who took charge of rebel group's political programme.  

Leadership

Lieutenant Larmassoum (nicknamed “Larma”) is a former maximum leader and spokesman of the APRD and was formally a member of Patassé’s Presidential Guard. He was arrested on 24 February 2006 and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Bangui Court on 18 August 2006. During his trial, he claimed to have received orders from Patassé, although no direct link has ever been established between the rebel group and CAR’s former President.
Lieutenant Florian Bedaya N’Djadder succeded Lt. Larmassoum as head of the APRD until the election of a new President in March 2008. Like his father, he was also a member of Patassé’s Presidential Guard. He lives in exile in Bamako, Mali.
Jean-Jacques Démafouth is the current, newly-elected President of the APRD since March 2008. As the former Defence Minister under Patassé, he was been prosecuted, but then acquitted, for his alleged involvement in the coup attempt against Patassé of 28 May 2001. A former member of the Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC, Mouvement pour la libération du peuple centrafricain), unsuccessful candidate of the 2005 presidential elections, Démafouth is again being prosecuted on charge of assassination of five of former-president Kolingba’s close associates in November 1999. Démafouth is currently living in exile in Paris, France, but may be able to come back to CAR due to the amnesty provision contained in the recent peace agreement.
Captain Laurent Djim-Woï is the APRD’s spokesman, in charge of the rebel group’s communication, and also commander of the troops on the ground.
Wafio Bertin is the APRD’s economic and political advisor and area commander of the Paoua-Boguila axis.

 

External aid/Third party involvement

The APRD has repeatedly denied receiving any external support, either from state or private sponsors. This seems to be confirmed by the quantity and the quality of their equipment, which is mainly composed of home-made weapons, as well as a few semi-automatic rifles likely to have been stolen from governmental facilities or owned by rebels prior to the rebellion (e.g. former members of Patassé’s Presidential Guard).
However, the situation in northern CAR is further complicated by tensions over grazing rights, migration routes, and access to water between local farmers and nomadic tribes. The latter have sought protection from the Chadian army, who have attacked north-western villages since mid-January 2008, partly as a reprisal against APRD’s actions in support to local farmers.

 

External effects of the NSAG's armed activities

The insecurity in the densely populated region of north-western CAR (the estimated population of the affected provinces is of about 1 million people, out of the 4 million living in the whole CAR) has caused the internal displacement of about 102,000 persons according to UNOCHA, as well as the flight of about 80,000 refugees to bordering Cameroon, Chad, and Sudan. Two patterns of migration can be distinguished; the first concerning the population in fear of military forces reprisals who then fled into the bush. The other concerns the nomadic population seeking refuge from repeated kidnappings in larger towns.

 

Funding

Having no external support, the APRD maintains its economic capabilities through extortion, forced taxation (e.g. a “road tax” for vehicles passing through their area), kidnappings for ransom, and looting of village livestock, especially in the Batangafo-Kabo-Ouadango triangle.  

Relationship with the international community

During the peace accord negotiations between the APRD and the CAR government, the rebel group had contacts with several international actors. Various international non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, such as the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and BONUCA played a role in the peace process to reach a consensus among all parties involved. Gabon, through its President, also facilitated the dialogue between the APRD leaders and President Bozizé’s government in playing the role of a mediator and offering its territory as a neutral meeting place.
Following a meeting between UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy and APRD’s Captain Laurent Djim-Woï in late May 2008, the APRD committed to demobilise all enrolled children in the Paoua area, after necessary arrangements have been made to ensure their protection and integration within the community.

 

Books

Articles and Chapters

• Godfrey G. Mukalazi, “Situation Report, Central African Republic," 4 Conflict Trends (2006)
• “Central African Republic: A Chance for a Phantom State," 44.11 Africa Research Bulletin (December 2007)
• “Central African Republic, Peace Deal With Rebels," 44.2 Africa Research Bulletin (February 2007)
• “Central African Republic, There goes the party," 47.10 Africa Confidential (May 2006)

 

Reports and resolutions of intergovernmental organizations

• UN Secretary-General, The situation in the Central African Republic and activities of the United Nations Peace-building Support Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA), 3 January 2003, UN Doc. S/2003/5
• UN Secretary-General, Secretary-General condemns coup d’etat in Central African Republic, 17 March 2003, UN Doc. SG/SM/8637, available at link
• UN Security Council, Press statement on Central African Republic by Security Council President, 20 March 2003, UN Doc. SC/7700, available at link
• UN Secretary-General, Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in the Central African Republic and the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in the Central African Republic, 27 June 2005, UN Doc. S/2005/414
• UN Secretary-General, Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in the Central African Republic and the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in the Central African Republic, 27 June 2006, UN Doc. S/2006/441
• UN Secretary-General, Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in the Central African Republic and the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in the Central African Republic, 22 June 2007, UN Doc. S/2007/376
• UN Secretary-General, Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in the Central African Republic and the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in the Central African Republic, 5 December 2007, UN Doc. S/2007/697
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Central African Republic's quiet conflict uproots more than 290,000, 26 September 2007, available at link
• UN OCHA (2007), Central African Republic Factsheet, February 2007, available at link
• UN OCHA (2007), Central African Republic Factsheet, June 2007, available at (p.50) link

 

Governmental reports

Reports of think tanks and non-governmental organizations

• Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme (2006), République centrafricaine, Oubliées, stigmatisées : la double peine des victimes de crimes internationaux, Report N°457, October 2006, at 46, available at link.
• Human Rights Watch (2007), Central African Republic, State of Anarchy, Rebellion and Abuses Against Civilians, Vol.19, N°14(A), September 2007, at 37, available at link
• Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Central African Republic-Chad: 8,000 Central Africans flee to southern Chad in fresh exodus from fighting, 15 June 2005, available at link
• IRIN, CAR: Rebel defections may boost aid work in northwest, 27 June 2007, available at link
• IRIN, République centrafricaine: Réactions prudentes au nouveau cessez-le-feu, 15 May 2008, available at link
• International Council of Voluntary Agencies (2006), CAR : A tragedy in the making? Multidisciplinary Mission to the Central African Republic (CAR), 24 November 2006, at §3, available at link
• International Crisis Group, Central African Republic, Anatomy of a Phantom State, Africa Report N°136, 13 December 2006, at 17, available at link
• Small Arms Survey, Sudan Issue Brief, A widening war around Sudan, The proliferation of armed groups in the Central African Republic, N°5, January 2007
• “République Centrafricaine : L’armée tchadienne attaque et incendie des villages frontaliers, Les civils sont en danger dans le nord-ouest de la RCA," Communiqué de presse by Human Rights Watch, 19 March 2008, available at link

 

Press Information (in chronological order)

• BBC Afrique.com, RCA: sous les feux croisés des belligérants (Allen, Karen), 2 August 2007, available at link
• AFP, Ancien Ministre de la Défense de la RCA, Jean-Jacques DEMAFOUTH devient Président de l’APRD, 28 March 2008, available at link
• Agence de Presse africaine, L’APRD s’engage à libérer tous les enfants soldats au nord-ouest de la Centrafrique, 2 June 2008, available at link
• Agence de Presse africaine, Une délégation du comité d’organisation du dialogue politique centrafricain se rend à Libreville dimanche, 13 June 2008, available at link

 

Interviews

Internet resources

• AllAfrica.com, Le gouvernement de Bangui et l’Armée populaire pour la restauration de la démocratie signent un Accord de cessez-le-feu et de paix à Libreville (Kombila, Jean Christian, Gabonews), 9 May 2008; available at link
• AllAfrica.com, La Commission de l’UA « se félicite de l’Accord de cessez le feu » et de paix entre le gouvernement de Bangui et l’APRD paraphé à Libreville, (Kombila, Jean Christian, Gabonews), 10 May 2008, available at link
• Gaboneco.com, Gabon: Gouvernement et rebelles centrafricains déposent les armes à Libreville, 10 May 2008, available at link
• IZF.net, L’actualité de la Centrafrique (AFP), Centrafrique : Le leader politique de l’Armée populaire pour la restauration de la démocratie (APRD), Jean-Jacques Demafouth, milite pour un « programme commun » de gestion du pays accepté par tous les protagonistes de la crise centrafricaine, 3 May 2008, available at link
• Relief Web, Bulletin d’Information Humanitaire République Centrafricaine (RCA) 05-12 mai 2008 (Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team – CAR), 12 May 2008, available at link
• Relief Web, CAR’s last active armed rebellion signs peace deal with Government (Blondel, Brice), 12 May 2008, available at link
• Relief Web, Chad and the Central African Republic: Hundreds of children to be released from armed groups, 31 May 2008, available at link
• Relief Web, Press conference by Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict on recent visit to Chad, Central African Republic, 2 June 2008, available at link

 

Statements of the armed group

• Communiqué de presse de l’APRD by Captain Laurent Djim-Woï, Paoua, 21 February 2008, available at link

Agreements involving armed groups