Central African Armed Forces
| Central African Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Forces armées centrafricaines (FACA) | |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Service branches | Ground Forces Air Force National Gendarmerie Republican Guard National Police |
| Headquarters | Camp Le Roux, Bangui |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Faustin-Archange Touadéra |
| Minister of Defense | Rameaux-Claude Bireau |
| Chief of the Defence Staff | Zéphirin Mamadou |
| Personnel | |
| Conscription | Voluntary, after the age of 18 years |
| Active personnel | 30,000 (2022) |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | $25 million (2021) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.4% (2018) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers | Brazil Belgium China India Indonesia Portugal Russia Germany Singapore South Africa Sweden Switzerland United States United Kingdom Vietnam Israel Japan Historical: France Soviet Union Yugoslavia South Africa West Germany Socialist Republic of Romania British Empire |
| Related articles | |
| History | Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Central African Republic Bush War Central African Republic Civil War |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Central African Republic |
The Central African Armed Forces (French: Forces armées centrafricaines; FACA) are the armed forces of the Central African Republic and have been barely functional since the outbreak of the civil war in 2012. Today they are among the world's weakest armed forces, dependent on international support to provide security in the country. In recent years the government has struggled to form a unified national army. It consists of the Ground Force (which includes the air service), the gendarmerie, and the National Police.
Its disloyalty to the president came to the fore during the mutinies in 1996–1997, and since then has faced internal problems. It has been strongly criticised by human rights organisations due to terrorism, including killings, torture and sexual violence. In 2013 when militants of the Séléka rebel coalition seized power and overthrew President Bozizé they executed many FACA troops.