Coup Atlas Research Database
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48203152003SuccessfulMilitary coup

Central African Republic, 2003 — military coup

Central African Republic (CAF)Central Africa, AfricaMarch 15, 2003

Event Summary

On 15 March 2003 General Francois Bozize seized Bangui and deposed President Ange-Felix Patasse of the Central African Republic while Patasse was out of the country attending a regional summit in Niamey, Niger. After his failed October 2002 assault, Bozize regrouped in the north with strong Chadian backing and, on 13 March, Patasse left for the summit having been assured his rivals were contained. Bozize led about a thousand fighters toward the capital, took towns along the way, and entered Bangui on 15 March, capturing the airport and presidential palace against little resistance from unpaid government troops.

Patasse's plane, returning the same day, was fired on as it approached Bangui and was forced to divert to Cameroon, where he took refuge before moving into exile, first in Cameroon and then Togo. At least fifteen people were killed in the takeover. Bozize suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament, imposed a curfew, and on 16 March proclaimed himself president, later forming a transitional government under prime minister Abel Goumba and winning the 2005 election.

Chadian troops who helped him seize power looted the capital in the aftermath.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Ange-Felix Patasse, deposed while abroad; unable to land, he went into exile in Cameroon and then Togo
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Francois Bozize (rebel leader who seized power and proclaimed himself president)
Ange-Felix Patasse (deposed president, stranded abroad)
Abel Goumba (named prime minister of the transitional government)
Idriss Deby (Chadian president whose troops backed Bozize)

Sources

A coup occurred in March 2003 when the forces of General Francois Bozize marched on Bangui while President Patasse was attending a regional summit in Niger; the rebels entered Bangui on 15 March, captured the airport and presidential palace against little resistance, and Patasse, unable to land, took refuge in Cameroon and then Togo, with at least fifteen killed and Bozize proclaiming himself president on 16 March.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, 2003 Central African Republic coup d'etat open source ↗
On 15 March 2003 Bozize finally succeeded in seizing power with his forces entering Bangui unopposed; Patasse was returning from a meeting in Niger but could not land because Bozize's forces controlled the airport, and he took refuge in Cameroon and then Togo the next year.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Francois Bozize open source ↗
The Committee to Protect Journalists recorded that on 15 March rebels under the command of ousted former army commander Francois Bozize captured the capital Bangui, ending President Ange-Felix Patasse's ten year rule over the mineral rich but chronically unstable country.
SOURCE REVIEWED Committee to Protect Journalists open source ↗
An Institute for Security Studies report notes that about 1,000 rebel troops loyal to Bozize entered Bangui virtually unopposed on 15 March 2003 and seized the airport and presidential palace, that Patasse's returning aircraft was fired on and diverted to Cameroon, and that Bozize was introduced as head of state on radio, suspending the constitution and dissolving parliament.
SOURCE REVIEWED Institute for Security Studies open source ↗

Editorial Note

This is the successful coup, paired with the failed 2002-10-25 assault (record 48210252002). Coded fate not physically harmed is verified: Patasse was abroad and unable to return, so he was not captured or harmed but went into exile; the coding could equally support exiled. Bozize's seizure was heavily backed by Chad, whose troops then looted Bangui. Ties to the CAR 2013 Seleka coup, when Bozize himself was overthrown and fled. The dataset codes 03-15 as a military coup; Bozize was a former army chief leading a rebel force.

Cross-Reference

Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
48203152003
Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-482-2003-03-15

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Ange-Felix Patasse, deposed while abroad; unable to land, he went into exile in Cameroon and then Togo.

Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
Open dataset DOI ↗
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ange-F%C3%A9lix_Patass%C3%A9

Foreign Broadcast Information Service

“Mozambique: African leaders’ meeting in Maputo to discuss continental conflicts,” July 7, 2003

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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