Noureddine Adam

Noureddine Adam (born 1970) is the leader of the Central African rebel group, the Popular Front for the Rebirth of Central African Republic (FPRC) in the Central African Republic Civil War.[1]

Nourredine Adam with Ambassador Bernard Leclerc in Bangui

Early career

An ethnic Runga, he was born in 1970 in N'Délé. His father was an imam who served as the leader of the Muslim community in Miskine neighborhood of Bangui.[2] His mother was a Chadian.[3] After completing secondary school, Adam was trained in Sudan and then in Egypt, where he graduated from the police academy in Cairo in the 1990s[2] after spending 10 years in Egypt.[3] After that, he was trained by the Israeli Special Forces for six months[3] and then settled for a year in Bangui where he was assigned to the Central Office for the Suppression of Banditism (OCRB).[3] During the early 2000s, he was hired as a guardsman in various Persian Gulf countries.[2][3] From 2003 to 2009, he stayed in the UAE and was a bodyguard of President Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.[4] In 2009, he returned to Central African Republic and joined the CPJP rebel group. Following the disappearance of Charles Massi in 2010, he became the leader of CPJP.[2]

2013 conflict

He was second in command to Michel Djotodia of the Seleka coalition of rebels.[5] In March 2013, he played a decisive role in the final offensive in Bangui, which overthrew incumbent President François Bozizé. After seizing power, President Djotodia later appointed him as Minister of Public Security on 31 March 2013 but he was dismissed on 22 August 2013 and was appointed as national security adviser. After Seleka was officially disbanded in September 2013, Ex-seleka fighters formed new militias with the largest being FPRC, which was formed in May 2014 and initially led by Djotodia. He was sanctioned by the UN on 9 May 2014 for involving in diamond trafficking between CAR and Chad. As leader of FPRC, Noureddine Adam declared the autonomous Republic of Logone or Dar El Kuti[6] on 14 December 2015 and intended Bambari as the capital,[6] with the transitional government denouncing the declaration and the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA stating it will use force against any separatist attempt.[5] By late 2016, the civil war was largely fighting between FPRC and a rival Exseleka faction called the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC) led by Ali Darassa.

References

1. "Central African Republic: Who is rebel leader Noureddine Adam who declared his state autonomous?". International Business Times. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
2. Juan Fandos-Rius, Richard Bradshaw (27 May 2016). Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 56. ISBN 9780810879928.
3. "A QUOI JOUE NOURREDINE ADAM ? par le Collectif des Citoyens Centrafricains Opposés à Séléka" (in French). Overblog. 22 January 2015.
4. "Le Général Adam "reprend son bâton de pèlerin" au sein de la Seleka La présence de" (in French). Anadolu Agency. 22 January 2014.
5. "Rebel declares autonomous state in Central African Republic". Reuters. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
6. "Dangerous Divisions: The Central African Republic faces the threat of secession". Enough Project. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.