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| - The Central African Republic holds the second round of its parliamentary election Sunday after months fighting off a rebel offensive against President Faustin Archange Touadera. The troubled former French colony has been riven by conflict since 2013, and two-thirds of its territory is controlled by militia groups. Here are recent developments: On December 3, former president Francois Bozize, who slipped into the country from exile in Uganda in 2019, is barred from standing in the elections because of an arrest warrant over torture and murder. On December 18 rebel forces attack key routes into Bangui. The next day six rebel groups announce they are forming an alliance -- the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC). The government accuses Bozize of attempting a coup, a charge he denies. The UN deploys peacekeepers to stop what it calls "a deliberate attempt to disrupt" the vote. Five days before the vote, the rebel coalition seizes Bambari, the country's fourth-largest city. UN peacekeepers take it back the next day. Under bilateral security pacts, Russia and Rwanda deploy hundreds of troops or paramilitaries in support of President Faustin Archange Touadera, who is running for a second term. France, Russia, the US, the EU, the Pope and the World Bank urge Bozize and the rebel groups to lay down their arms. The election goes ahead on December 27 and Touadera is re-elected with 53.92 percent of the vote, though only one in three voters were able to cast their ballots because of security fears. The opposition calls for the election to be annulled. In early January rebel fighters capture the southern city of Bangassou, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Prosecutors say Bozize is being investigated for plotting a coup. In the following days the rebels launch several sporadic attacks. More than 30,000 people have fled the country due to the violence surrounding the elections, the UN says, while tens of thousands more have been internally displaced. On January 13, rebels launch twin attacks on the outskirts of the capital -- the first time they have struck so close to the city since the start of their offensive. On February 8, the first humanitarian aid convoy reaches Bangui after 50 days under blockade. Government forces and the Russian and Rwandan "allies" retake the town of Bouar the following day, advancing along the main road towards neighbouring Cameroon and capturing a string of further towns. By February 11 they reach the border town of Beloko, allowing the first truckers to reach Bangui with supplies a few days later. Government-aligned forces continue their push, taking Bozize's former stronghold Bossangoa on February 24. ang-eab/fg-tgb/pma
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