CAR Prime Minister And Government Resign

In the latest political crisis in the country, the entire cabinet leaves office, but the president’s spokesman says the prime minister may be asked to head the new administration.

Firmin Ngrebada, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (CAR), has resigned along with the entire cabinet, the latest political crisis to hit the war-weary country.

Thursday’s development came during a turbulent week after France announced it was suspending military operations with its former colony.

“We will know within a few hours whether the president continues to run the prime minister,” said Albert Yalok Mokpem

Former Touadera chief of staff, Ngrebada had been in office since early 2019 when he helped draft a peace deal signed in February 2019 with rebel groups in Khartoum that now appears on the brink of collapse.

The Central African Republic has witnessed waves of deadly intercommunal fighting since 2013 that have killed thousands of people and displaced many more. Violence flared again last year after the constitutional court rejected the candidacy of former president Francois Bozize to run in the December presidential elections.

Since December, the army has been supported by 12,000 UN MINUSCA peacekeepers, Rwandan special forces and Russian paramilitaries. Together, they took back control of many areas previously held by rebels.

The CAR also faces massive poverty and food insecurity. The UN said about half of the population is affected by “high levels of acute food insecurity.”

Earlier this week, some 160 French soldiers providing operational support while training Central African forces suspended their mission. The decision did not affect the approximately 100 French soldiers involved in the United Nations peacekeepers and the European Union training forces in the country.