Central African Republic Military - 2024

Military and security forces

Central African Armed Forces (Forces Armees Centrafricaines, FACA): Army (includes an air squadron, Escadrille Centrafricaine)

Ministry of Interior: National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), National Police (2023)

note 1: the Special Republican Protection Group (Groupement Spécial Chargé de la Protection Républicaine or GSPR) is part of the Army per a March 2022 decree, but reports to the president; the GSPR provides protection to the head of state

note 2: in 2019-2021, the CAR created three Mixed Special Security units (Unités Spéciales Mixtes de Sécurité or USMS), regionally based battalion-sized units comprised of about 40% government and 60% rebel soldiers created to provide security along transportation corridors and at mining sites; the units are intended to be transitional in nature with a scheduled deployment time of two years; in addition, since mid-2021 the FACA have frequently recruited local militias, mostly former anti-balaka and seleka fighters, whom they pay to help track and attack rebels hiding in the bush

Military expenditures

1.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
1.7% of GDP (2022 est.)
1.8% of GDP (2021 est.)
1.8% of GDP (2020 est.)
1.7% of GDP (2019 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; up to 15,000 FACA troops; approximately 8,000 Gendarmerie and 10,000 National Police (2023)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

most of the military's heavy weapons and equipment were destroyed or captured during the 2012–2014 civil war; prior to the war, most of its equipment was of French, Russian, or Soviet origin; in recent years, it has received some secondhand equipment from China and Russia, including light weapons, as well as some armored vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and helicopters (2023)

note: since 2013, CAR has been under a UNSC arms embargo; the embargo bans all supplies of arms and related materiel to the country except to the CAR security forces if approved in advance by the relevant UN Sanctions Committee; in 2023, UNSC took a step towards relaxing the arms embargo by granting permission for weaponry to be supplied to government forces

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for military service; no conscription although the constitution provides for the possibility of conscription in the event of an imminent threat to the country (2023)

Military - note

the 2013 coup resulted in the institutional collapse of the FACA; its forces were overwhelmed and forced to flee to neighboring countries; it has been estimated that only 10% of the FACA returned after the coup, and it has struggled to rebuild in the years of instability since, despite considerable foreign assistance; considerable portions of the country remain outside state control and are ungoverned, with the presence of multiple armed actors creating insecurity in much of the country 

in late 2020 and early 2021, the Coalition des Patriotes pour le Change (CPC), a loose coalition of armed groups comprised largely of former Seleka and anti-Balaka fighters, attacked the capital Bangui; CAR Government forces, along with Russian private military contractors and Rwandan troops, repelled the attack while the CPC retreated to its rear bases and into neighboring countries and continued conducting attacks; as of 2023, the CAR Government claimed to have restored authority across much of the country, including the capital, although armed groups, including some not affiliated with CPC, continued to carry out violent activities in regions outside the capital, threatening local stability; forces on both sides have been accused of abuses and atrocities in the fighting 

in 2018, the UN Security Council approved Russian security assistance for the CAR to help train and advise FACA personnel, as well as transport them to operational areas, provide logistical support, and assist with medical evacuation; in addition to teams of military trainers, Russia sent private military contractors, and as of 2023, as many as 2,000 were providing assistance to the FACA, as well as performing other security roles such as guarding mines and government officials; some Russian contractors and the CAR forces they supported have been accused of carrying out indiscriminate killings, using excessive force against civilians, and looting

the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has operated in the country since 2014; its mission includes providing security, protecting civilians, facilitating humanitarian assistance, disarming and demobilizing armed groups, and supporting the country’s fragile transitional government; in 2023, MINUSCA had about 17,000 military and police personnel 

the European Union Training Mission in the Central African Republic (EUTM-RCA) has operated in the country since 2016, providing advice, training, and educational programs to the country's security forces; from 2016-2021, the EU mission trained five territorial infantry battalions and one amphibious infantry battalion; France also provided assistance to the FACA before suspending its support in 2021 (2023)