EUFOR RCA on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
European Union Force
The European Union (EU) has undertaken a number of overseas missions and operations, drawing on civilian and military capabilities, in several countries across three continents (Europe, Africa and Asia), as part of its Common Security and Def ...
RCA, commonly referred as EUFOR RCA, is the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
-mandated European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
peacekeeping mission in 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 Uban ...
, capital of 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 ...
. The goal of the mission is to stabilize the area after more than a year of internal conflict. Agreement about the mission was reached in January 2014, and the first operations started at the end of April. The mission ended its mandate after nearly a year on 15 March 2015.
Background
In 2012 the Central African Republic was embroiled in internal conflict, resulting in the ousting of the Christian presidentFrançois Bozizé
François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born 14 October 1946) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013.
Bozizé rose to become a high-ranking army officer in the 1970s, under the rule of Jean- ...
in March 2013. Michel Djotodia
Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia (born c. 1949) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2013 to 2014. He was the first Muslim to hold that office in the predominantly Christian country. Djotodia was a l ...
, the leader of Muslim Séléka
Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR was an alliance of rebel militia groups that subjugated the Central African Republic (CAR) on 24 March 2013. After its official dissolution in September 2013, the remaining rebel groups became known as Ex-Séléka. Sél ...
rebels, assumed the presidency but was himself forced to resign in January 2014. According to the UN Refugee Agency
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integratio ...
, 37,000 people have escaped to neighboring countries, while 173,000 have been internally displaced. In December 2013, peacekeeping missions Operation Sangaris by France and MISCA
The African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (french: Mission internationale de soutien à la Centrafrique sous conduite africaine, MISCA) is an African Union peacekeeping mission to the Central African Republic ...
by the African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
were mounted.
On 20 January 2014, EU foreign ministers reached agreement for the creation of EUFOR RCA, which is the ninth EU military operation in the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy
The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).
The CSDP involves the dep ...
. On 28 January, United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...
resolution 2134 approved deployment of the EU force into the Central African Republic. The military operation was established on 10 February, with Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Philippe Pontiès Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to:
* Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present)
* Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer
* Prince Philippe, Count ...
as its commander.
Deployment
On 30 April 2014, EUFOR RCA started its first major operation by taking over security at theBangui M'Poko International Airport
Bangui M'Poko International Airport is an international airport located northwest of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic.
In 2004, the airport served 53,862 passengers. In 2012, the airport had an average attendance of about 120,0 ...
.
The initial force consisted of 150 troops, and was contributed by former colonial power France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and by Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
.* During May and June troops from Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
, Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
as well as military advisors from Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
joined the force. On 15 June it achieved full operational capability with 700 troops. The EU mission is planned to last for half a year, with the overall goal to secure a safe environment in the Bangui area, and afterwards hand it over to African partners who should arrive with a 12,000 troop United Nations peacekeeper force in September. On 28 August 2014, troops from Italy joined the force with 50 paratroopers from Folgore Parachute Brigade.
According to some experts, the mission is unlikely to achieve all its objectives in the planned time frame, and training of local security forces will probably continue into 2015.
See also
* EUFOR Tchad/RCA *European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic
The European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA) is a European Union multinational training mission headquartered in Bangui, Central African Republic.
8 EU member-states (France, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portuga ...
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:EUFOR RCA Military ground operations of the European Union 21st-century establishments in the Central African Republic Military history of Africa Military operations involving Georgia (country) EUFOR RCA Military operations involving Estonia Military operations involving Spain Military operations involving the Netherlands Military operations involving Poland Central African Republic Civil War