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The UN Security Council will vote on Thursday to renew the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) as the current authorisation expires this weekend.
Deployed in 2014 during the nation’s devastating civil war, the stabilisation force has already begun scaling back operations and closing bases following security improvements that enabled general elections last December.
Despite these gains, persistent instability continues to plague the nation.
Armed rebel groups remain active near borders with Chad, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, frequently clashing with government forces backed by Russian Wagner paramilitaries and Rwandan troops.
Recent violence, including abductions by Lord’s Resistance Army remnants and fighting with the AAKG militia, has internally displaced over 416,000 residents.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera has advocated for a conditional, gradual withdrawal so national security forces can assume full sovereign control.
While both French and Russian diplomats support a phased drawdown, MINUSCA officials emphasise that the mission’s core mandate to protect civilians remains active as the Security Council deliberates its next steps.
