CAR: Government Denounces Ex-President’s “Coup d’état Attempt”

What Could This Mean for Central African Politics?

Former President François Bozizé has been accused of an “attempted coup d’etat in the middle of an election period” by the Central African government on Saturday after announcing the formation of the Coalition of Patriots for Change comprised of three armed groups that is conducting an offensive in several localities in the west of the country.

Government spokesman Ange-Maxime Kaagui also accused Bozizé's troops of having "cowardly murdered three gendarmes" — as well as a military engineer, without giving further details.

He also denounced a "suicidal enterprise whose sole aim is to question the decision of the Constitutional Court," which recently invalidated Mr Bozizé's presidential candidacy.