Populations in the Central African Republic are at risk of atrocity crimes due to ongoing violence by armed groups and abuses by government and allied forces, as well as regional instability.

BACKGROUND:

Civilians in the Central African Republic (CAR) continue be at imminent risk of atrocity crimes due to ongoing armed group activity, inter-communal violence and military operations conducted by state and allied forces. In 2026 an estimated one million people need protection assistance. Armed groups continue to perpetrate attacks across the country, particularly in the northeast and southeast, committing violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), including killings, abductions, forcible child recruitment and attacks on civilian infrastructure, humanitarian workers and the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA).

The situation in southeastern Haut-Mbomou prefecture remains particularly volatile. The Azande Ani Kpi Gbe (AAKG), a predominantly ethnic Azandé armed group, emerged in 2023 to expel the predominantly Fulani Union for Peace (UPC) from their strongholds. The AAKG forcibly recruited Azandé youth and spread ethnonationalist rhetoric, exacerbating inter-communal tensions. Fighting between the groups has resulted in forced displacement and grave human rights abuses against civilians, particularly along ethnic lines.

In 2024 hundreds of Azandé fighters received training from Russian paramilitaries and were integrated into the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) through a unit known as Wagner Ti Azande (WTA), which operated alongside Russian paramilitaries. These integrated forces consolidated control over several communities. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and MINUSCA documented likely war crimes by WTA and AAKG fighters, primarily targeting Muslim communities and Sudanese refugees.

The situation deteriorated further in 2025 following fractures within the alliance between the AAKG/WTA and FACA. The AAKG subsequently carried out ethnic violence and grave human rights abuses in Zemio, Dembia and Rafai involving killings, gang rape, torture, kidnappings, looting and attacks on humanitarian workers and MINUSCA. Tensions further intensified after the government signed a peace agreement with the UPC. Reports that Russian personnel arrested Azandé leaders and that FACA and Russian paramilitaries recruited former UPC fighters to combat the AAKG heightened fears of retaliatory violence and further inter-communal targeting.

Beyond Haut-Mbomou, insecurity continues to be fueled by the fragmentation of armed groups aligned with the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC). The CPC offensive launched in late 2020 effectively collapsed the 2019 peace agreement that had formally ended more than five years of armed conflict in CAR. In response, FACA – supported by Russian security partners, including Wagner Group mercenaries – launched counteroffensives that pushed several CPC-affiliated groups out of provincial towns for the first time in over a decade. Although the government has since pursued renewed peace agreements with armed groups and attempted to revitalize the 2019 accord, abuses by factions such as the UPC and Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation (3R) continue to be documented.

The UN has documented abuses and violations by FACA and mercenaries that may amount to war crimes, including summary executions, arbitrary killings, torture, rape and enforced disappearances. Ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Muslim and Fulani communities, have been disproportionately targeted through arrests, detention, ill-treatment and attacks during security operations. OHCHR has previously implicated proxy forces recruited, trained and armed by FACA and Russian personnel in attacks that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Police have additionally been accused of arbitrarily arresting, illegally detaining and torturing Fulani civilians.

Civic space has continued to shrink in recent years, with authorities targeting human rights defenders, independent media and opposition figures through arrests, intimidation and politically motivated investigations, often with the involvement of pro-government armed groups. These authoritarian practices contributed to tensions surrounding the December 2025 presidential elections and April 2026 local elections.

The protracted crisis in CAR has its origins in the 2013 overthrow of President François Bozizé by the mainly Muslim Séléka rebel alliance. Abuses committed by the Séléka prompted the formation of predominantly Christian anti-balaka militias and triggered the collapse of state institutions. Between 2013-2015 anti-balaka and ex-Séléka forces committed likely war crimes and crimes against humanity. To date, two former anti-balaka leaders have been convicted by the International Criminal Court and a trial is ongoing for a Séléka leader. The Special Criminal Court (SCC) in CAR has approximately 15 ongoing investigations and two trials, including of Bozizé and his co-defendants for crimes against humanity. The SCC, which relies solely on voluntary contributions, is at serious risk of closure in 2026 due to severe budget cuts.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:

Armed group activity and IHL violations continue to result in civilian harm across CAR. Recent incidents have heightened fear within already fragile communities in Haut-Mbomou. Since April combatants belonging to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have also renewed activities in the area, perpetrating the largest LRA attacks against civilians in CAR since 2020 through a string of abductions and killings. On 29 June a priest involved in community reconciliation was killed in Zémio by AAKG combatants. His assassination is particularly concerning as the AAKG has targeted and killed other local peacebuilders in retaliation for their work. The UN Protection Cluster has reported an increase in arbitrary arrests and racial profiling during security operations and identity checks in the prefecture.

Cross-border incursions by armed actors based in Sudan continue to heighten risks to civilians in northeastern CAR. In Vakaga prefecture, civilians face conflict-related sexual violence, forced displacement, extortion and intimidation. These dynamics have contributed to the emergence and strengthening of self-defense groups, increasing civilians’ exposure to further abuses. On 29 June fighting between a coalition of CAR-based armed elements and Sudanese paramilitary combatants with the FACA in Am Dafock killed and injured civilians and displaced much of the population, with many seeking refuge at a MINUSCA base.

ANALYSIS:

Despite relative territorial gains by the government, the security situation remains highly volatile in certain prefectures due to the fragmentation of armed groups, weak state control, persistent inter-communal tensions and the failure to dismantle underlying systems of violence. Although the CPC has weakened and become increasingly divided, dissident factions continue to threaten civilians through attacks, kidnappings and extortion while competing for territorial influence and access to resources. The cross-border movement of fighters, weapons and natural resources continues to sustain a regionalized conflict economy, particularly around mining areas and transhumance routes. Mercenaries have committed human rights abuses and targeted civilians to maintain and increase their control of mining areas.

In several prefectures, including Mbomou, Haut-Mbomou, Ombella-Mpoko and Lim-Pendé, perceptions of exclusion, discrimination and unequal access to resources continue to fuel communal grievances. Communities accused of collaborating with armed groups remain vulnerable to stigmatization, collective punishment and retaliatory violence.

Although recent peace agreements have contributed to localized security gains, civil society organizations and UN experts question their sustainability in the absence of meaningful disarmament, security sector reform and accountability measures. Several agreements have also prioritized short-term stabilization over justice for past abuses, reinforcing longstanding patterns of impunity which have been a central cause of recurring atrocities in CAR.

While multiple accountability mechanisms exist, relatively few perpetrators have been arrested or prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed since 2013. The ambiguous legal status and command structures of militia elements integrated into FACA further complicate accountability efforts.

RISK ASSESSMENT:

• • • Targeted violence and hate speech on the basis of ethnicity and religion, increasing retaliatory attacks and the formation of self-defense groups and/or forced recruitment.
    • Alliances with abusive armed groups and integration of such groups into FACA.
    • Insufficient disarmament efforts, with current peace agreements risk remaining largely symbolic and entrenching impunity for past and ongoing abuses.
    • Deliberate acts of violence and exploitation against vulnerable populations.
    • Repressive measures to close civic space and suppress dissent.

NECESSARY ACTION:

All armed actors must adhere to their obligations under IHL and International Human Rights Law. CAR authorities must instruct FACA to cease collusion or cooperation with armed groups and take steps to strengthen regional security cooperation. Provincial and local authorities, in coordination with civil society, should strengthen community-based atrocity prevention and response strategies, protection monitoring and early warning systems and local reconciliation efforts.

All perpetrators of atrocities in CAR should be held legally accountable, regardless of their political status, rank, affiliation or nationality. All suspects subject to SCC arrest warrants should be taken into custody. The international community should urgently provide financial resources to the SCC to ensure the Court can carry out its mandate.

CAR authorities must guarantee the independence of institutions, respect fundamental human rights, protect civic space and counter incitement to violence.