 This 1983: Doomsday page is a Proposal.
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History of Central African Republic
Pre-Doomsday
From 1900 to 1958 the Central African republic was controlled by France and called Ubangi-Shari. Numerous civil rights abuses occured during this time and a growing call for independence. On December 1st 1958 the Central African Republic was made automonus territory under Barthelemy Boganda the nations first President who was killed in a mysterious plane crash only days before independence was acchieved in 1960. The First offical President David Dacko was overthrown in 1965 in a coup by Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who within ten years would crown himself an empire over the country and commited an number of crimes against his people. David Dackko was restored to the presidence with French aid in 1979 only to be overthrown again in a coup by , who was still the leader of the nation on Doomsday
Doomsday
Due to the nations location in Central Africa it was unaffected by the attacks on Doomsday or the fallout that came after. However it was severely affected by the economic damage and the lose of contact with France left several thousand troops stationed there in limbo. The climate changes caused by Doomsday brought draught to the region which brought a great deal of hardship to the country. During this period of time a small number of Sudanese refugees entered the country due to the civil war, however these people were easily able to settle into the eastern half of the CAR due to its low population density.
Growing Discontentment
Andre Kolingba reputation had been mixed prior to Doomsday but he had generally been considered to be much less brutal then some of his predecassors such as Bokassa. But within months after doomsday he became increasingly paranoid about his position as President. In order to quall the unrest in the Northern part of the the country Kolingba posted troops to "enforce order in the region". His actions however gave credence to oppostion arguments that Kolingba was abusing his power as President. It also lead to increased tensions between the North and Southern areas of the country because most of the leaders of the army were of the Yakoma ethnic group, of which Andre kolingba is a member. The Yakoma was primarily located in The South greatly increasing the regional tensions.
Organization of the Rebellion
By the summer of 1984 the situation detroiated in the Northern CAR as large numbers of people began to call for an overthrow of the President. Despite his reputation for being more of a corrupt leader then a brutal enforcer the troops stationed in the North were causing much havoc and chaos among the population. Many believed that the deposal of the Kolingba government was the only way to restore order to their areas. Many people were supportors of Ange-Felix Patasse, some were even in favor of creating a new government under him, but Patasse had been sent into exile after a failed coup prior to Doomsday and on September 25th 1983 is believed to have been in either Togo or France, either way he was unreachable. However, a young man named Charles Massi, a former supporter of Patasse became a head figure in the opposition movement and would later become recognized as its leader.
Battle of Bossangoa
The tensions in the Central African Republic exploded on December, 19, 1984 when a elderly farmer angry that his crops were being taken for shipment to the South angrily shoved a soldier. The Soldier then shot the man instantly killing him. Brutal behavior by Soldiers had become common, but this murderous act was one offence to many and in the nearby city of Bossangoa protests against military abuse began and quickly escalted in to all out rebellion. In response the military laid Bossangoa under siege and attempted to massacre its inhabitdants. Charles Massi, when hearing of the uprising in Bossangoa personally lead a small army of militiamen and other supporters toward Bossangoa and ambushed the army, The Rebels, though relitively poorly armed, took the army by suprise and faced with battle on two fronts the unit collapsed. the victory vastly increased the support for Massi and inspired other revolts throughout the region. A confident Massi declared the creation of Provisional Goverment Of the Northern Central African Republic on Christmas Day of 1984 and declared war on the Kolingba controlled South.
The War
The Civil war in CAR would last for almost two years but eventually as meet with war on all fronts the Military of Kolingba started to crumple and by October of 1986 rebel forces lead by Massi had reached the capital of Bangui. Andre Kolingba had been hoping for aid from troops in Zaire since many of the ethnic groups of South CAR also lived their but Zaire was on the verge of collapse and only a small number of civillian volunteers arrived. After a siege of several weeks Bangui fell to the rebel armies and Andre Kolingba was caught well attempting to flee to Zaire and was executed at the scene.
The Aftermath and Reunification
After the end of the civil war Charles Massi became President of the new Goverment, however challenges still remained. Clashs between the Northern and Southern etnic groups caused some of the Southerns to immigrate to the Northern areas of Zaire. However slowly ethnic clashes died out as many people blamed Kolingba for most of the violence and not the Southern half of the country as a whole. Massi began sending expeditions into the eastern part of the coutry which had broken contact with the rest of the nation during the civil war. The Eastern CAR had a high number of Sudanese refugees and many were relucant to became part of a new nation. However, Massi was able to convinced the majority of the people of Eastern Car that joing them would be the best and on March 5th 1988 The Central African Republic was fully united in its previous size.