THE first round of presidential elections in the Central African Republic on December 30th was largely peaceful. That was a big surprise to many, given the looting, raping and razing of villages by rival Christian and Muslim armed groups that has forced almost a million people to flee their homes since 2012.
No winner emerged from the 30 candidates. A run-off will be held on January 31st. But, with countless militias still controlling most of the country, it would not take much for voting to be overtaken by violence.
The world pays little attention to CAR, a Texas-sized nation of around 4.8m people landlocked by both Sudans and Congos. Its economy is negligible and it does not export terrorism to the West. However, that may not always be the case. Chaos can spread, and lawless places can breed jihad, as in Somalia and north-eastern Nigeria.
The country has been scorched by violence for the past three years. In December 2012 the Séléka, a mainly Muslim rebel alliance, pillaged its way south and three months later overthrew President François Bozizé, a former army chief of staff who had seized power in a coup in...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1n8iO03
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