European Union Force RCA, commonly referred as EUFOR RCA, was the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

-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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

peacekeeping mission in

Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...

, capital of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. The goal of the mission was to stabilize the area after more than a year of

internal conflict In narrative, an internal conflict is the struggle occurring within a character's mind. Things such as what the character yearns for, but can't quite reach. As opposed to external conflict, in which a character is grappling some force outside of ...

. 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

, resulting in the ousting of the Christian president

François Bozizé François Bozizé Yangouvonda (born 14 October 1946) is a Central African Republic, Central African politician who was List of heads of state of the Central African Republic, President of the Central African Republic from 2003 to 2013. He was th ...

in March 2013. Michel Djotodia, 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, 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 by the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union 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 African Union. The b ...

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. 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, an ...

resolution 2134 approved deployment of the EU force into the Central African Republic. The military operation was established on 10 February, with Major General

Philippe Pontiès Philippe is a masculine given name, cognate to Philip, and sometimes also a surname. The name may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prin ...

as its commander.

Deployment

On 30 April 2014, EUFOR RCA started its first major operation by taking over security at the Bangui M'Poko International Airport. The initial force consisted of 150 troops, and was contributed by former colonial power

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and by

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

.* During May and June troops from

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

as well as military advisors from

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

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 Folgore is the Italian word for ''lightning''. It may refer to: Military * Macchi C.202 ''Folgore'', an Italian fighter of World War II * Breda Folgore, an Italian anti-armor weapon * Traditional name for paratroopers units of the Italian Army * ...

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

Background

Deployment

See also

References