SUMMARY

CMSPR (Military Coalition for the Salvation of the People and Recovery, Coalition Militaire de Salut du Peuple et de Redressement) was a rebel coalition active in the Central African Republic. It was founded on 25 May 2024 by Armel Sayo. At its formation the coalition grouped the Coalition of Non-Signatory Movements of the Peace Accords (CMNSP), led by Gali Tago, and the Front for the Defence of Public Liberties (FDLP), led by Florent Kema, a former anti-Balaka commander. It was organized around several bodies, including a Higher Political and Military Directorate chaired by Sayo and a general military staff, and it operated mainly in the northwest of the country.

The coalition's stated objectives were framed around restoring peace, security, and order and bringing about national reconciliation and a "refoundation" of the Central African state, while its underlying aim was the removal of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra. Sayo had already called, in a June 2023 interview, for Touadéra's departure and the installation of a new transition. He was a long-standing figure in the country's armed politics. He founded the rebel group Revolution and Justice (RJ) in 2013, which disarmed in 2019 and was formally dissolved by the government in October 2025, and he served as a government minister on several occasions, including after the 2019 Khartoum peace process. He later joined the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) in December 2020, leading to his dismissal from the government in early 2021.

Sayo's leadership of the CMSPR was disrupted in January 2025, when he was arrested at Douala airport in Cameroon while attempting to travel to France. He was transferred to Bangui in May 2025 and charged with rebellion, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and offences against state security.