A coup d'état occurred in March 2003 in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

when the forces of

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

François Bozizé marched on

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

, the country's capital, while

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ange-Félix Patassé Ange-Félix Patassé (January 25, 1937 – April 5, 2011) was a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 1993 until 2003, when he was deposed by the rebel leader François Bozizé in the 2003 coup d'ét ...

was at a regional conference in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesBozoum Bozoum is the capital of Ouham-Pendé, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic. History On 13 January 2014 Seleka withdrew from Bozoum. Anti-balaka took control of the town. Muslims who lived there were subjects to threats by ...

. On 14 January 2003

Bouar Bouar is a market town in the western Central African Republic, lying on the main road from Bangui (437 km) to the frontier with Cameroon (210 km). The city is the capital of Nana-Mambéré prefecture, has a population of 40,353, while ...

was reportedly under rebels control.

Coup

While Patassé was away, Bozizé led 1,000 fighters to the capital city of Bangui and captured the international airport and the presidential palace. Government troops, many of whom had not been paid in months, put up little resistance. The 370

CEMAC The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; french: Communauté Économique des États de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC; es, Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Central, CEEAC; pt, Comunidade Económica dos Estados da Áfr ...

peacekeepers abandoned their posts rather than fight. A curfew was imposed afterwards by Bozizé and the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

was suspended. President Patassé, meanwhile, fled the country to nearby

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

when rebels shot at his plane. Militants from Chad were spotted among the rebel fighters, but the

President of Chad This is a list of heads of state of Chad since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of six people have served as head of state of Chad (not counting two Interim Heads of State). Additionally, one pers ...

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ' (18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021. Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranki ...

, denied providing any military support to Bozizé. At least fifteen people were killed."CAR: A popular coup"
''The Economist'', 20 March 2003. France deployed a number of troops to the country for the first time in four years in order to protect foreign nationals. After the coup, Bozizé created a new division in the

Central African Armed Forces The Central African Armed Forces (french: Forces armées centrafricaines; FACA) are the armed forces of the Central African Republic and have been barely functional since the outbreak of the civil war in 2012. Today they are among the world's we ...

, made up of "patriots" who took part in the coup with him, called the Republican Guard. They committed numerous crimes against civilians in the capital.– UNDP: Fiche Pays: République centrafricaine (2005)
/ref>

International response

* and : Foreign ministers of the two countries visited General Bozizé after the coup, saying that they would negotiate with him. *: The

, denied allegations that Chadian troops helped Bozizé.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Central African Republic coup d'etat Conflicts in 2003 2000s coups d'état and coup attempts Military coups in the Central African Republic March 2003 events in Africa 2003 in the Central African Republic

Coup

International response

See also

References