Relationship dossier
Central African Republic
South Africa
Relationship assessment
Military cooperation marked by South Africa’s 2013 deployment and its deadly end
Central African Republic toward South Africa
+15The Central African Republic entered into military cooperation with South Africa and hosted South African forces deployed to support its government. The subsequent fighting involving those forces was a major strain in the relationship.
South Africa toward Central African Republic
+10South Africa maintained a defence relationship with the Central African Republic and deployed troops there in 2013. South African soldiers fought Seleka forces during the advance on Bangui, and South Africa later withdrew its contingent.
Overall relationship
+5The relationship had a concrete security-cooperation foundation, including a defence arrangement and South Africa’s troop deployment. The 2013 battle in which South African soldiers were killed, followed by withdrawal, makes the bilateral record mixed rather than a sustained close partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Central African Republic–South Africa ties included military cooperation, including a bilateral defence arrangement and South African military deployment in the Central African Republic. The deployment ended in deadly fighting with Seleka forces in 2013, complicating an otherwise cooperative security relationship. The scope and durability of cooperation beyond that period are unclear.
Areas of tension
- South African forces fought Seleka troops during the 2013 advance on Bangui, resulting in South African military fatalities.
Key developments
South Africa deployed troops to the Central African Republic; South African forces fought Seleka troops during the advance on Bangui, and South Africa subsequently withdrew its contingent.
Major uncertainties
- The implementation and continuing status of the bilateral defence arrangement are unclear.
- The extent of government-to-government cooperation after the 2013 military deployment is uncertain.