SUMMARY
The Military faction (forces of André Kolingba) was a loose-knit group of mutinous soldiers that sought to overthrow the Government of Central African Republic under the rule of President Ange-Félix Patassé. They launched an unsuccessful coup on 27 May 2001, which was suppressed after two weeks of fighting in the capital, Bangui. Following this, the surviving fighters fled to Uganda for refuge (for more information, see Government of Central African Republic - Military faction (forces of André Kolingba). As a result of the coup attempt, 80 000 civilians also fled from the Central African Republic because part of the government response included reprisal killings towards ethnic Yakoma (for more information, see Government of Central African Republic – Civilians).
The Military faction (forces of André Kolingba) was partially driven by the increase in ethnic polarization in the country during the 1990s and early 2000s. Part of this polarization included preferential treatment towards the Presidential Guard, dominated by the Souma ethnic group, which raised tensions between the regular army and the Presidential Guard. The regular army of the Central African Republic was dominated by ethnic groups from the south including the Yakoma, which had been favored under the previous government. The Military faction (forces of André Kolingba) consisted mainly of ethnic Yakoma soldiers.
André Kolingba was the reported leader of the Military faction (forces of André Kolingba). However, ambiguity concerning the full extent of his involvement in the coup remains because Kolingba stated that he gave his support to the military faction’s rebellion but he also stated that he did not mastermind the coup himself. André Kolingba was an ethnic Yakoma and ex-President of Central African Republic, who ruled between 1986 and 1993. During the 1960s and 70s, Kolingba rose through the military and political ranks to notably serve as Ambassador to Canada and Germany, as well as a military and political advisor to the Central African Republic’s rulers, Jean-Bedel Bokass and David Dacko. In 1981, Kolingba seized control and became president through a blood-less coup on 1 September. He founded and led the Rassemblement démocratique centrafricain (RDC) political party in 1986, through which he ruled country under a one-party regime. Kolingba eventually widened the political space to allow for alternative parties and subsequently, lost the first multiparty elections in 1993 to Ange-Félix Patassé. He was also reported to have been behind other army-led mutinies in 1996 and 1997.
