title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: The peacekeeping force Multinational Force in the Central African Republic (FOMUC) was formed in October 2002 by the regional economic community Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: After François Bozizé seized power in 2003, the Central African Republic Bush War (2004–2007) began with the rebellion by the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) in northeastern CAR, led by Michel Djotodia. During this conflict, the UFDR rebel forces also fought with several other rebel groups including the Group of Patriotic Action for the Liberation of Central Africa (GAPLC), the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP), the People's Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD), the Movement of Central African Liberators for Justice (MLCJ), and the Democratic Front of the Central African People (FDPC). Tens of thousands of people were displaced by the unrest, which continued until 2007, with rebel forces seizing several cities during the conflict.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 13 April 2007, a peace agreement between the government and the UFDR was signed in Birao. The agreement provided for an amnesty for the UFDR, its recognition as a political party, and the integration of its fighters into the army. Further negotiations resulted in a Libreville Global Peace Accord agreement in 2008 for reconciliation, a unity government, local elections in 2009 and parliamentary and presidential elections in 2010. The new unity government that resulted was formed in January 2009. On 12 July 2008, with the waning of the Central African Republic Bush War, the larger overlapping regional economic community to CEMAC called the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), replaced FOMUC, whose mandate was largely restricted to security, with the Central African Peacebuilding Mission (MICOPAX), who had a broader peace building mandate.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Rebel groups alleged that Bozizé had not followed the terms of the 2007 agreement and that there continued to be political abuses, especially in the northern part of the country, such as "torture and illegal executions".


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: In August 2012 a peace agreement was signed between the government and the CPJP. On 20 August 2012, an agreement was signed between a dissident faction of the CPJP, led by Colonel Hassan Al Habib calling itself Fundamental CPJP, and the Patriotic Convention for Saving the Country (CPSK). Al Habib announced that, in protest of the peace agreement, the Fundamental CPJP was launching an offensive dubbed "Operation Charles Massi", in memory of the CPJP founder who was allegedly tortured and murdered by the government, and that his group intended to overthrow Bozizé. In September, Fundamental CPJP, using the French name "Alliance CPSK-CPJP," took responsibility for attacks on the towns of Sibut, Damara and Dekoa, killing two members of the army. It claimed that it had killed two additional members of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) in Damara, capturing military and civilian vehicles, weapons including rockets, and communications equipment, and launched unsuccessful assault on a fourth town, Grimari, and promised more operations in the future. Mahamath Isseine Abdoulaye, president of the pro-government CPJP faction, countered that the CPJP was committed to the peace agreement and the attacks were the work of Chadian rebels, saying this group of "thieves" would never be able to march on Bangui. Al Habib was killed by FACA on 19 September in Daya, a town north of Dekoa.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: In November 2012, in Obo, FACA soldiers were injured in an attack attributed to Chadian Popular Front for Recovery rebels. On 10 December 2012, the rebels seized the towns of N'Délé, Sam Ouandja and Ouadda, as well as weapons left by fleeing soldiers. On 15 December, rebel forces took Bamingui, and three days later they advanced to Bria, moving closer to Bangui. The "Alliance CPSK-CPJP" for the first time used the name Séléka (meaning "union" in the Sango language) with a press release calling itself "Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR", thus including the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR). The "Séléka" claim they are fighting because of a lack of progress after a peace deal ended the Bush War. Following an appeal for help from Central African President François Bozizé, the President of Chad, Idriss Déby, pledged to send 2,000 troops to help quell the rebellion. The first Chadian troops arrived on 18 December 2012 to reinforce the CAR contingent in Kaga-Bandoro, in preparation for a counter-attack on N'Délé. "Séléka" forces took Kabo on 19 December, a major hub for transport between Chad and CAR, located west and north of the areas previously taken by the rebels. On 18 December 2012, the Chadian group Popular Front for Recovery (FPR) announced their allegiance to the Séléka coalition. On 20 December 2012, a rebel group based in northern CAR, the Democratic Front of the Central African People (FDPC) joined the Séléka coalition. Four days later the rebel coalition took over Bambari, the country's third largest town, followed by Kaga-Bandoro on 25 December. Rebel forces reached Damara, bypassing the town of Sibut where around 150 Chadian troops were stationed together with CAR troops that withdrew from Kaga-Bandoro.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 26 December, hundreds of protesters surrounded the French embassy accusing the former colonial power of failing to help the army. Josué Binoua, the CAR's minister for territorial administration, requested that France intervenes in case the rebels, now only away, manage to reach the capital Bangui. On 27 December, Bozizé asked the international community for assistance. French President François Hollande rejected the appeal, saying that French troops would only be used to protect French nationals in CAR, and not to defend Bozizé's government. Reports indicated that the U.S. military was preparing plans to evacuate "several hundred" American citizens, as well as other nationals. Gabonese General Jean-Félix Akaga, commander of the Economic Community of Central African States' (ECCAS) Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC), said the capital was "fully secured" by the troops from its MICOPAX peacekeeping mission, adding that reinforcements should arrive soon. However, military sources in Gabon and Cameroon denied the report, claiming no decision had been taken regarding the crisis.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Government soldiers launched a counterattack against rebel forces in Bambari on 28 December, leading to heavy clashes, according to a government official. Several witnesses over away said they could hear detonations and heavy weapons fire for a number of hours. Later, both a rebel leader and a military source confirmed the military attack was repelled and the town remained under rebel control. At least one rebel fighter was killed and three were wounded in the clashes, and the military's casualties were unknown.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Meanwhile, the foreign ministers in the ECCAS announced that more troops from the Multinational Force for Central Africa (FOMAC) would be sent to the country to support the 560 members of the MICOPAX mission already present. The announcement was done by Chad's Foreign Minister Moussa Faki after a meeting in the Gabonese capital Libreville. At the same time, ECCAS Deputy Secretary-General Guy-Pierre Garcia confirmed that the rebels and the CAR government had agreed to unconditional talks, with the goal to get to negotiations by 10 January at the latest. In Bangui, the U.S. Air Force evacuated around 40 people from the country, including the American ambassador. The International Committee of the Red Cross also evacuated eight of its foreign workers, though local volunteers and 14 other foreigners remained to help the growing number of displaced people.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Rebel forces took over the town of Sibut without firing a shot on 29 December, as at least 60 vehicles with CAR and Chadian troops retreated to Damara, the last city standing between Séléka and the capital. In Bangui, the government ordered a 7 pm to 5 am curfew and banned the use of motorcycle taxis, fearing they could be used by rebels to infiltrate the city. Residents reported many shop-owners had hired groups of armed men to guard their property in anticipation of possible looting, as thousands were leaving the city in overloaded cars and boats. The French military contingent rose to 400 with the deployment of 150 additional paratroopers sent from Gabon to Bangui M'Poko International Airport. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault again stressed that the troops were only present to "protect French and European nationals" and not deal with the rebels.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 30 December, President Bozizé agreed to a possible national unity government with members of the Séléka coalition. On 2 January 2013, the president took over as the new head of the defense ministry from his son and dismissed army chief Guillaume Lapo. Meanwhile, rebel spokesman Col. Djouma Narkoyo confirmed that "Séléka" had stopped their advance and will enter peace talks due to start in Libreville on 8 January, on the precondition that government forces stop arresting members of the Gula tribe. The rebel coalition confirmed it would demand the immediate departure of President Bozizé, who had pledged to see out his term until its end in 2016. By 1 January reinforcements from FOMAC began to arrive in Damara to support the 400 Chadian troops already stationed there as part of the MICOPAX mission. With rebels closing in on the capital Bangui, a total of 360 soldiers were sent to boost the defenses of Damara – Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 120 each from Gabon, Republic of the Congo and Cameroon, with a Gabonese general in command of the force. Jean-Félix Akaga, the Gabonese general in charge of the MICOPAX force, sent by the ECCAS, declared that Damara represented a "red line that the rebels cannot cross", and that doing so would be "a declaration of war" against the 10 members of the regional bloc. France had further boosted its presence in the country to 600 troops. On 6 January, South African President Jacob Zuma announced the deployment of 400 troops to CAR to assist the forces already present there.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 11 January 2013, a ceasefire agreement was signed in Libreville, Gabon. On 13 January, Bozizé signed a decree that removed Prime Minister Faustin-Archange Touadéra from power, as part of the agreement with the rebel coalition. The rebels dropped their demand for President François Bozizé to resign, but he had to appoint a new prime minister from the opposition by 18 January 2013. On 17 January, Nicolas Tiangaye was appointed Prime Minister. The terms of the agreement also included that National Assembly of the Central African Republic be dissolved within a week with a year-long coalition government formed in its place and a new legislative election be held within 12 months (with the possibility of postponement). In addition, the temporary coalition government had to implement judicial reforms, amalgamate the rebel troops with the Bozizé government's troops to establish a new national military, set up the new legislative elections, as well as introduce other social and economic reforms. Furthermore, Bozizé's government was required to free all political prisoners imprisoned during the conflict, and foreign troops must return to their countries of origin. Under the agreement, Séléka rebels were not required to give up the cities they have taken or were then occupying, allegedly as a way to ensure that the Bozizé government would not renege on the agreement. Bozizé would be allowed to remain president until new presidential elections in 2016.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 23 January 2013, the ceasefire was broken, with the government blaming Séléka and Séléka blaming the government for allegedly failing to honor the terms of the power-sharing agreement. By 21 March, the rebels had advanced to Bouca, 300 km from the capital Bangui. On 22 March, the fighting reached the town of Damara, 75 km from the capital.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 18 March 2013, the rebels, having taken over Gambo and Bangassou, threatened to take up arms again if their demands for the release of political prisoners, the integration of their forces into the national army and for South African soldiers to leave the country were not met within 72 hours. Three days later, they took control of the towns of Damara and Bossangoa. By 23 March, they entered Bangui. On 24 March, rebels reached the Presidential Palace in the centre of the capital. The Presidential Palace and the rest of the capital soon fell to rebel forces and Bozizé fled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was followed by widespread looting in the capital. By 2 April, only 20 of the original 200 South African National Defence Force troops stationed in CAR remained in the country. A company of French troops secured Bangui M'Poko International Airport and France sent 350 soldiers to ensure the security of its citizens, bringing the total number of French troops in CAR to nearly 600. On 25 March 2013, Séléka leader Michel Djotodia, who served after the January agreement as First Deputy Prime Minister for National Defense, declared himself President, becoming the first Muslim to ever hold the office. Djotodia said that there would be a three-year transitional period and that Nicolas Tiangaye would continue to serve as Prime Minister. Djotodia promptly suspended the constitution and dissolved the government, as well as the National Assembly. He then reappointed Tiangaye as Prime Minister on 27 March 2013.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: In the following two days top military and police officers met with Djotodia and recognized him as President on 28 March 2013, in what was viewed as "a form of surrender", and the overall security situation was beginning to improve. A new government headed by Tiangaye, with 34 members, appointed on 31 March 2013, included nine members of Séléka, along with eight representatives of the parties that had opposed Bozizé, while only one member of the government was associated with Bozizé, and 16 positions were given to representatives of civil society. The former opposition parties declared on 1 April that they would boycott the government to protest its domination by Séléka, arguing that the 16 positions given to representatives of civil society were in fact "handed over to Séléka allies disguised as civil society activists".


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 3 April 2013, African leaders meeting in Chad declared that they did not recognize Djotodia as President; instead, they proposed the formation of an inclusive transitional council and the holding of new elections in 18 months, rather than three years as envisioned by Djotodia. Speaking on 4 April, Information Minister Christophe Gazam Betty said that Djotodia had accepted the proposals of the African leaders; however, he suggested that Djotodia could remain in office if he were elected to head the transitional council. Djotodia accordingly signed a decree on 6 April for the formation of a transitional council that would act as a transitional parliament. The council was tasked with electing an interim president to serve during an 18-month transitional period leading to new elections.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: The transitional council, composed of 105 members, met for the first time on 13 April 2013 and immediately elected Djotodia as interim President; there were no other candidates. A few days later, regional leaders publicly accepted Djotodia's transitional leadership, but, in a symbolic show of disapproval, stated that he would "not be called President of the Republic, but Head of State of the Transition". According to the plans for the transition, Djotodia would not stand as a candidate for President in the election that would conclude the transition.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 13 September 2013, Djotodia formally disbanded Séléka, which he had lost effective control of once the coalition had taken power. This had little actual effect in stopping abuses by the militia soldiers who were now referred to as Ex-Séléka. Self-defense militias called Anti-balaka previously formed to fight crime on a local level, had organized into militias against abuses by Séléka soldiers. On 5 December 2013, called "A Day That Will Define Central African Republic", the Anti-balaka militias coordinated an attack on Bangui against its Muslim population, killing more than 1,000 civilians, in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Djotodia.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 14 May, CAR's PM Nicolas Tiangaye requested a UN peacekeeping force from the UN Security Council, and on 31 May former President Bozizé was indicted for crimes against humanity and incitement of genocide. On the same day as the 5 December attacks, the UN Security Council authorized the transfer of MICOPAX to the African Union led peacekeeping mission, the International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA or AFISM-CAR), with troop numbers increasing from 2,000 to 6,000, as well as for the French peacekeeping mission called Operation Sangaris.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Interim President Michel Djotodia and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye resigned on 10 January 2014 yet the conflict still continued. The National Transitional Council elected the new interim president of the Central African Republic after Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet became the Acting Chief of State. Nguendet, being the president of the provisional parliament and viewed as being close to Djotodia, did not run for the election under diplomatic pressure. On 20 January 2014, Catherine Samba-Panza, the mayor of Bangui, was elected as the interim president in the second round voting. Samba-Panza was viewed as having been neutral and away from clan clashes. Her arrival to the presidency was generally accepted by both the Ex-Séléka and the Anti-balaka sides. Following the election, Samba-Panza made a speech in the parliament appealing to the Ex-Séléka and the Anti-balaka for putting down their weapons.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 27 January, Séléka leaders left Bangui under the escort of Chadian peacekeepers. The aftermath of Djotodia's presidency was said to be without law, a functioning police and courts leading to a wave of violence against Muslims.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: The European Union decided to set up its first military operations in six years when foreign ministers approved the sending of up to 1,000 soldiers to the country by the end of February, to be based around Bangui. Estonia promised to send soldiers, while Lithuania, Slovenia, Finland, Belgium, Poland and Sweden were considering sending troops; Germany, Italy and Great Britain announced that they would not send soldiers. The UN Security Council unanimously voted to approve sending European Union troops and to give them a mandate to use force, as well as threatening sanctions against those responsible for the violence. The E.U. had pledged 500 troops to aid African and French troops already in the country. Specifically the resolution allowed for the use of ""all necessary measures"" to protect civilians. The first batch of 55 EUFOR troops arrived in Bangui, according to the French army, and carried out its first patrol on 9 April with the intention of ""maintaining security and training local officers"". On 15 February, France announced that it would send an additional 400 troops to the country. French President François Hollande's office called for ""increased solidarity"" with the CAR and for the United Nations Security Council to accelerate the deployment of peacekeeping troops to the CAR. Ban Ki-moon then also called for the rapid deployment of 3,000 additional international peacekeepers. Because of increasing violence, on 10 April 2014, the UN Security Council transferred MISCA to a UN peacekeeping operation called the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) with 10,000 troops, to be deployed in September that year. MINUSCA drew figurative "red lines" on the roads to keep the peace among rival militias. France called for a vote at the UNSC in April 2014 and expected a unanimous resolution authorising 10,000 troops and 1,800 police to replace the over 5,000 African Union soldiers on 15 September; the motion was then approved. After an incident where civilians were killed that involved Chadian soldiers, Chad announced the withdrawal of its forces from MISCA in April 2014.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned of a "de facto" partition of the country into Muslim and Christian areas as a result of the sectarian fighting, he also called the conflict an "urgent test" for the UN and the region's states. Amnesty International blamed the Anti-balaka militia of causing a "Muslim exodus of historic proportions." Samba-Panza suggested poverty and a failure of governance was the cause of the conflict. Some Muslims of the country were also weary of the French presence in MISCA, with the French accused of not doing enough to stop attacks by Christian militias. One of the cited reasons for the difficulty in stopping attacks by Anti-balaka militias was the mob nature of these attacks.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: After three days of talks, a ceasefire was signed on 24 July 2014 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. The Séléka representative was General Mohamed Moussa Dhaffane, and the Anti-balaka representative was Patrick Edouard Ngaïssona. The talks were mediated by Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso and South Sudanese diplomat Albino Aboug. The Séléka delegation had pushed for a formalization of the partition of the Central African Republic with Muslims in the north and Christians in the south but dropped that demand in talks. Many factions on the ground claimed the talks were not representative and fighting continued with Séléka's military leader Joseph Zoundeiko rejected the ceasefire agreement the next day saying it lacked input from his military wing and brought back the demand for partition. Ngaïssona told a general assembly of Anti-balaka fighters and supporters to lay down their arms and that Anti-balaka would be turned into a political party called Central African Party for Unity and Development (PCUD) but he had little control over the loose network of fighters. In May 2015, a national reconciliation conference organized by the transitional government of the Central Africa Republic took place. This was called the Bangui National Forum. The forum resulted in the adoption of a Republican Pact for Peace, National Reconciliation and Reconstruction and the signature of a Disarmament, Demobilisation, Rehabilitation and Repatriation (DDRR) agreement among 9 of 10 armed groups.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Months after the official dissolution of Séléka it was not known who was in charge of Ex-Séléka factions during talks with Anti-balaka until on 12 July 2014, Michel Djotodia was reinstated as the head of an ad hoc coalition of Ex-Séléka which renamed itself "The Popular Front for the Rebirth (or Renaissance) of Central African Republic" (FPRC). Later in 2014, Noureddine Adam led the FPRC and began demanding independence for the predominantly Muslim north, a move rejected by another general, Ali Darassa, who formed another Ex-Séléka faction called the "Union for Peace in the Central African Republic" (UPC), which was dominant in and around Bambari, while the FPRC's capital is in Bria. Darassa rebuffed multiple attempts to reunify Séléka and threatened FPRC's hegemony. Noureddine Adam declared the autonomous Republic of Logone or Dar El Kuti on 14 December 2015 and intended Bambari as the capital, with the transitional government denouncing the declaration and MINUSCA stating it will use force against any separatist attempt. Another group is the "Central African Patriotic Movement" (MPC), founded by Mahamat Al Khatim.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Since 2014, there has been little government control outside of the capital. Armed entrepreneurs have carved out personal fiefdoms in which they set up checkpoints, collect illegal taxes, and take in millions of dollars from the illicit coffee, mineral, and timber trades. At least 14 armed groups vied for territory, notably four factions formed by Ex-Séléka leaders who controlled about 60% of the country's territory. In January 2015, talks in Nairobi between Joachim Kokate representing the Anti-balaka and Djotodia and Adam of FPRC led to another ceasefire agreement where they called for amnesty for all perpetrators of abuses and the removal of the current transitional authorities. The transitional government and the international community dismissed the deal as it excluded them from the negotiations and termed the parties "Nairobists". By October 2015, Samba-Panza accused the Nairobists of plotting a coup and dozens of FPRC combatants even walked from the north-east of the country to Sibut, a few kilometres from the capital, threatening the transitional authorities, but were stopped by international forces. With the de facto partition of the country between Ex-Séléka militias in the north and east and Anti-balaka militias in the south and west, hostilities between both sides decreased but sporadic fighting continued. In February 2016, after a peaceful election, the former prime minister Faustin-Archange Touadéra was elected president. In October 2016, France announced that it was ending its peacekeeping mission in the country, Operation Sangaris, and largely withdrew its troops, saying that the operation was a success. By March 2014, the UNSC had authorised a probe into possible genocide, which in turn followed International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda initiating a preliminary investigation into the ""extreme brutality"" and whether it falls into the court's remit. The UNSC mandate probe would be led by Cameroonian lawyer Bernard Acho Muna, who was the deputy chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, former Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jorge Castañeda and Mauritanian lawyer Fatimata M'Baye. The ICC began prosecutions and Alfred Yekatom of the Anti-Balaka who was involved in the 'Battle of Bangui' and Patrice Edouard Ngaïssona of the Anti-Balaka were arrested in 2018, although no one from the Ex-Séléka was arrested.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: In eastern CAR, tensions erupted in competition between Ex-Séléka militias arising over control of a goldmine in November 2016, where MPC and the FPRC coalition, which incorporated elements of their former enemy, the Anti-balaka, attacked UPC. The violence is often ethnic in nature with the FPRC associated with the Gula and Runga people and the UPC associated with the Fulani. Most of the fighting was in the centrally located Ouaka prefecture, which has the country's second largest city Bambari, because of its strategic location between the Muslim and Christian regions of the country and its wealth. The fight for Bambari in early 2017 displaced 20,000. MINUSCA made a robust deployment to prevent FPRC taking the city and in February 2017, Joseph Zoundeiko, the chief of staff of FPRC who previously led the military wing of Séléka, was killed by MINUSCA after crossing one of the red lines. At the same time, MINUSCA negotiated the removal of Ali Darassa from the city. This led to UPC to find new territory, spreading the fighting from urban to rural areas previously spared. Additionally, the thinly spread MINUSCA relied on Ugandan as well as American special forces to keep the peace in the southeast, as they were part of a campaign to eliminate the Lord's Resistance Army, but the mission ended in April 2017. By the latter half of 2017, the fighting largely shifted to the southeast where the UPC reorganized and were pursued by the FPRC and Anti-balaka with the level of violence only matched by the early stage of the war. About 15,000 people fled from their homes in an attack in May and six U.N. peacekeepers were killed – the deadliest month for the mission yet. In June 2017, another ceasefire was signed in Rome by the government and 14 armed groups including FPRC, but the next day fighting between an FPRC faction and Anti-balaka militias killed more than 100 people. In October 2017, another ceasefire was signed between the UPC, the FPRC, and Anti-balaka groups, and FPRC announced Ali Darassa as coalition vice-president, but fighting continued afterward. By July 2018 the FPRC was headed by Abdoulaye Hissène and based in the northeastern town of N'Délé. In 2019, the FPRC split into two factions, a Runga group on one side, including Abdoulaye Hissene, and rival fighters from the Gula and Kara on the other side.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: In western CAR, another rebel group, with no known links to Séléka or Anti-balaka, called "Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation" (3R) formed in 2015 reportedly by Sidiki Abass, claiming to be protecting Muslim Fulani people from an Anti-balaka militia led by Abbas Rafal. They are accused of displacing 17,000 people in November 2016 and at least 30,000 people in the Ouham-Pendé prefecture in December 2016. In northwestern CAR around Paoua, fighting since December 2017 between "Revolution and Justice" (RJ) and "Movement for the Liberation of the Central African Republic People" (MNLC) displaced around 60,000 people. MNLC, founded in October 2017, was led by Ahamat Bahar, a former member and co-founder of FPRC and MRC, and is allegedly backed by Fulani fighters from Chad. The Christian militant group RJ was formed in 2013, mostly by members of the presidential guard of former president Ange-Félix Patassé, and were composed mainly of ethnic Sara-Kaba. While both groups had previously divided the territory in the Northwest, tensions erupted after the killing of RJ leader, Clément Bélanga, in November 2017.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Beginning around 2017, Russia began to increasingly support the government of Touadéra, whose personal guard became largely Russian as well. Three Russian journalists were killed in 2018 while investigating Russian mercenary groups in CAR. In August 2018, Russia and Sudan helped broker another tentative agreement among armed groups. After talks in Khartoum, an African Union led initiative led to an accord between the government and 14 rebel groups in February 2019 called the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation, the eighth such agreement since the war started in 2012. As part of the accord, Ali Darassa of UPC, Mahamat Al-Khatim of MPC and Sidiki Abass of 3R were given positions as special military advisers to the prime minister's office overseeing special mixed units made of government and rebel soldiers in regions of the country that they already controlled. This did not stop the violence, with 3R killing more than 50 people in several villages in May 2019, leading to MINUSCA to launch a military operation against them. In August 2019, Sidiki Abbas of 3R and Mahamat Al-Khatim of MPC resigned from their government posts. Democratic Front of the Central African People (FDPC) leader Abdoulaye Miskine refused to take his government post and joined a new rebel group formed in June 2019 called "Partie du Rassemblement de la Nation Centrafricaine" (PRNC) to oppose the peace deal, claiming that the deal is a way of rebel leaders to gain money and posts from the government. In September 2019, fighting between two rebel groups that signed the February 2019 deal, FPRC and the mostly Kara "Movement of Central African Liberators for Justice" (MLCJ), which was founded by Abakar Sabon and was not part of the Séléka alliance that overthrew Bozizé, killed at least 24 people and displaced about 24,000.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Presidential and legislative elections were scheduled for 27 December 2020. Former President François Bozizé had announced his return to the country in December 2019 and his intent to run in the presidential election. Bozizé, of the Gbaya, the country's largest ethnic group, retained much support among the population and army members.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 19 December 2020 six rebel groups who together control two-thirds of the country's territory, including 3R led by General Sembé Bobo, FPRC, and UPC, announced they had formed an alliance called the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), and accused President Touadéra of trying to rig the election and stated their intent to advance to the capital. They seized several towns close to Bangui. The government accused Bozizé of fomenting a coup with the rebels after his candidacy for presidential elections was rejected by the country's highest court, but Bozizé denied this.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 20 December 2020 Rwanda confirmed it had sent troops and Russia said it had sent 300 military instructors. On 22 December, the CPC, in an offensive led by UPC, had taken the country's fourth largest city, Bambari, according to its mayor, but the UN stated that its peacekeepers had retaken the city the next day. On 28 December, it was announced by the electoral commission that 800 (14%) of polling stations failed to operate during the presidential and legislative elections due to violent attacks from armed rebels.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On January 3, 2021, MINUSCA reported that the rebel coalition partially captured Bangassou, adding that the fighters were allied to former President François Bozizé. It is argued that the arrival of the Rwandans and Russians thwarted the rebels from reaching Bangui and so the rebels adopted a long term strategy of suffocating Bangui by controlling the resources around it, however, on January 13, the CPC attacked the capital but were eventually repelled.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On January 4, the electoral commission declared Touadéra the winner of the presidential election. A state of emergency was declared in January 25, and President Touadéra has been accused of using that opportunity to crack down on opponents and consolidate power. Pro-Touadéra militias known as the "Sharks" and "7th Territorial Infantry Battalion" are alleged to have been involved in disappearances of members of Bozizé's party and former president's Catherine Samba-Panza, as well as challengers of Touadéra in the recent polls, Anicet-Georges Dologuélé and Martin Ziguélé, report being prevented from exiting the country.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Since January 2021, due to the actions of Russia's neo-Nazi-linked Wagner Group and neo-Nazi Russian Imperial Movement, the rebels have been on the retreat for the first time in years. On 25 January 2021, CAR forces, backed by Russian PMCs and Rwandan troops, attacked Boyali, killing 44 rebels who were plotting an assault on the capital. Subsequently, CAR forces, supported by the Russian contractors and Rwandan troops, captured a number of strategic towns throughout February 2021, including Bossembele, Bouar, Beloko and Bossangoa. As the rebels were being pushed back, Valery Zakharov urged them to hand over their leaders to the CAR's security forces. During the fighting, the rebel Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC) claimed its fighters killed several Wagner Group PMCs and captured one when they destroyed their truck near Bambari on 10 February.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Government advances, with the support of Russian and Rwandan forces, continued during March, April and May 2021. This included the capture of the strategic towns of Bria and Kaga-Bandoro and the Bakouma sub-prefecture. Some towns were also seized solely by the Russian PMCs, including Nzacko. In at least one instance, the contractors reportedly included Syrians.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On March 25, 3R rebel leader Sidiki Abass, whose group is accused of war crimes, had succumbed to his injuries in the northern part of the country. In April 2021, the UPC, then the biggest of the armed rebel groups, withdrew from the CPC and asked to talk with the government which has declined so far. The rebels were seen to be moving away from cities and towards peripheral areas and turning to guerilla tactics instead of open fighting.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: By mid-May, the Russians have captured a village about 40 km from Bambari during fighting that left 20 people dead. In addition, at the end of the month, Russian and Syrian PMCs of the Wagner Group attacked a rebel checkpoint at the entrance of a village 28 km from Bria, killing three CPC fighters. Towards the end of July, the CAR military was leaving the frontline against the CPC to the PMCs. The plan was for government troops to occupy the captured positions after they had been secured by the contractors.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: The increase in influence by Russia at the expense of France in its former colony led to a disinformation campaign on Facebook between the two powers and France suspending aid and military cooperation with the CAR government in May 2021.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 5 October 2021, 34 civilians were killed by alleged UPC rebels in the village of Matchika near Bambari. Between 6 and 16 December 2021 Anti-balaka fighters from pro-government faction killed number of Muslim civilians in Boyo commune for their alleged links with UPC rebels.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: On 16 and 17 January 2022, Russian mercenaries killed at least 65 civilians in Aïgbado and Yanga villages. In March 2022, they launched a large offensive against armed groups in the northern part of the country, during which they reportedly killed hundreds of civilians, mostly artisanal miners. In April 2022 a series of intercommunal clashes involving 3R rebels and pro-government faction of Anti-balaka led to dozens of deaths and displacement of more than 1,000 people in Gadzi. On 4 December 2022 leader of four armed groups (MLCJ, RPRC, UFR and UFR-R) signed in Bangui an agreement announcing their dissolution.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: It is argued that the focus of the initial disarmament efforts exclusively on the Séléka inadvertently handed the anti-Balaka the upper hand, leading to the forced displacement of Muslim civilians by anti-Balaka in Bangui and western CAR. While comparisons were often posed as the "next Rwanda", others suggested that the Bosnian Genocide's may be more apt as people were moving into religiously cleansed neighbourhoods. Even as Séléka was closing in on the capital, clashes began in Bangui's PK5 neighborhood, where members of ethnic groups with ties to "Séléka" were attacked, such as the Gula. After the withdrawal of Séléka leaders from Bangui, there was a wave of attacks against Muslims with anti-Muslim pogroms and looting of Muslim neighborhoods, including the lynching of the Muslim former Health Minister Dr. Joseph Kalite by Christian self-defence groups. Accounts state of lynch mobs, including that of uniformed soldiers, stoning or hacking Muslims then dismembering and burning their bodies in the streets. In 2014, Amnesty International reported several massacres committed by the anti-balakas against Muslim civilians, forcing thousands of Muslims to flee the country. Other sources report incidents of Muslims being cannibalized. On 10 April, MISCA troops escorted over 1,000 Muslims fleeing to Chad with a police source saying "not a single Muslim remains in Bossangoa." The Muslim population of Bangui dropped 99% from 138,000 to 900. In 2015, Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said 417 of the country's 436 mosques had been destroyed, and Muslim women were so scared of going out in public they were giving birth in their homes instead of going to the hospital.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Eric Danboy Bagale, head of former president François Bozizé's guard and head of the mostly Christian anti-Balaka militias, was arrested in Paris on 19 September, 2020 for war crimes in relation to revenge killings.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Much of the tension is also over historical antagonism between agriculturalists, who largely comprise Anti-balaka and nomadic groups, who largely comprise Séléka fighters. There was ethnic violence during fighting between the Ex-Séléka militias FPRC and UPC, with the FPRC targeting Fulani people who largely make up the UPC and the UPC targeting the Gula and Runga people, who largely make up FPRC, as being sympathetic to FPRC. In November 2016 fighting in Bria that killed 85 civilians, FPRC was reported targeting Fulani people in house-to-house searches, lootings, abductions and killings.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: Within the FPRC, the Gula wing attacked the Runga wing in Ndele in April 2020, with at least 25 people being killed.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: It is also reported that in 2019, violence broke out in the northeastern region, where the killing of an ethnic Kara man sparked heavy fighting between the mainly Kara MLCJ and largely Runga FPRC.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: In 2015, humanitarian aid workers in the CAR were involved in more than 365 security incidents, more than Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. By 2017, more than two-thirds of all health facilities have been damaged or destroyed. The crimes are often committed by individuals not associated with any armed rebel groups. There have been jail breaks with more than 500 inmates escaping from Nagaragba Central Prison, including fighters of both Christian and Muslim militias. By 2017, only eight of 35 prisons function and few courts operate outside the capital. The international press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders said it was concerned that the rebel attacks were taking their toll on the ability of radio stations to operate in the CAR, with condemnation of the killing of journalist Elisabeth Blanche Olofio, who worked for Radio Bé-Oko which is part of a network of apolitical radio stations known as L'Association des Radios Communautaires de Centrafrique.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: In May 2014, it was reported that around 600,000 people in CAR were internally displaced with 160,000 of these in the capital Bangui. By May 2014, 100,000 people had fled to neighbouring Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad. As of 2017, there are more than 1.1 million displaced people in a country of about 5 million people, the highest ever recorded in the country, with about half a million refugees outside CAR and about 600,000 internally displaced. Cameroon hosted the most refugees, more than 135,000, about 90% of whom are Fulani, even though they constituted 6% of CAR's population.


title: Central African Republic Civil War

text: In December 2020, after a contested election rebels -known as the Coalition of Patriots for Change or the CPC have seized main roadways and prevented the flow of goods into Bouar. These and other similar efforts have caused an estimated 100,000 to leave their homes. A month later, January 2021, the number had doubled to 200,000, including 92,000 refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 13,000 in Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Timothy Duane Hardaway Sr. (born September 1, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. Hardaway played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers. He was a five-time NBA All-Star and All-NBA Team selection. Hardaway won a gold medal with the United States national basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was known for his crossover dribble which was dubbed the "UTEP two-step" by television analysts.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway played college basketball for the UTEP Miners under head coach Don Haskins, a future member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway was twice named MVP of El Paso's Sun Bowl Invitational Tournament, in 1987 and 1988. He played on teams that went to the NCAA Tournaments in 1988 and 1989. He won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award in 1989 as the best college player in the nation six feet (1.83 m) tall or under. While playing for the Miners, Hardaway developed his crossover dribble move that was called the "UTEP two-step".


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway was selected as the 14th overall pick of the 1989 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. In his rookie season, Hardaway wore number "5" on his jersey, as Manute Bol wore Hardaway's "10". After Bol left the Warriors, Hardaway acquired the number. Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin formed a trio known as Run TMC (the initials of the players' first names and a play on the name of the popular rap group Run-DMC). As part of the Warriors' attack, Hardaway was responsible for leading Run TMC's fast break, displaying his excellent passing and one-on-one skills to complement Richmond's slashing and Mullin's shooting.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Golden State made the playoffs during the 1990–91 season, Hardaway's second season and his first season in the playoffs. In the first round, the 7th seeded Warriors defeated the 2nd seeded San Antonio Spurs led by All-Star David Robinson in 4 games to advance to face the 3rd seeded Los Angeles Lakers led by NBA legend Magic Johnson. The Warriors managed to steal a game on the road in game 2, but could not defeat the more experienced Lakers, falling in five games despite Hardaway averaging 26.8 points, 12.8 assists and 3.8 steals for the series.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway averaged a career-high 23.4 points a game in the 1991–92 season, as the Warriors fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Seattle SuperSonics. The following season Hardaway averaged a career-high 10.6 assists a game to get with his scoring average of 21.5, but the Warriors did not make the playoffs and would not return to postseason action for the remainder of Hardaway's tenure with the team.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: As a Warrior, Hardaway made the NBA All-Star Game three straight years, and a knee injury kept him out of the entire 1993–94 season. He reached 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster than any other NBA player except Oscar Robertson. Hardaway played for the Warriors until the middle of 1995–96 season when he was traded to the Miami Heat along with Chris Gatling in exchange for Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Following the mid-season trade to Miami, Hardaway started 28 games to finish the season, averaging 17.2 points a game with 10 assists. Miami made the playoffs but were swept in the first round by the 72 win Chicago Bulls. The following season was a huge success for Miami and for Hardaway, as he finished 4th in voting for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, was selected to the All-NBA First Team as Miami won a franchise record 61 wins.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway started in 81 games, averaging 20.3 points, 8.6 assists, while placing fourth in the league with 203 three-point baskets. He also played in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, scoring 10 points in 14 minutes. In the playoffs, Hardaway averaged 26 points a game as the Heat defeated the Orlando Magic in the first round in 5 games, and then defeated the New York Knicks in 7 games in the semifinals, in which Hardaway scored 38 points in the 7th game. Miami would once again fall to the defending champion Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals in 5 games.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: In the 1997–98 season, Hardaway averaged 18.9 points and 8.3 assist per game, and was selected to play in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. The Heat won 55 games and won the Atlantic Division, but lost to the Knicks in 5 games in the first round of the playoffs. In the lockout shortened 1998–99 season, he averaged 17.4 points a game with 7.3 assists, and Miami won the Atlantic Division again but could once again not defeat the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs despite having home court advantage and the Knicks being the 8th seed in the playoffs.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway's production slipped in the 1999–2000 season, with Alonzo Mourning and Jamal Mashburn carrying more of the offensive load. Hardaway averaged 13.4 points with 7.4 assists a game, but shot a personal best .367 percent from beyond the three-point arc. After playing just 52 games, Hardaway was further limited in the playoffs, as Miami defeated the Detroit Pistons but once again fell to New York in 7 games.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: That summer, Hardaway and Mourning won a gold medal playing for the U.S.A. men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Before the 2000–01 season Mourning would be diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, and would be sidelined for much of the season. Hardaway upped his offensive production to 14.9 points a game with 6.3 assists a game as Miami won 50 games and captured the East's third best record, only to be swept in the first round by the Charlotte Hornets.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Following the 2000–01 season, and with his skills declining with age, Hardaway was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on August 22, 2001, for a second-round draft pick. He was at one time Miami's all-time leader in assists. With Dallas, Hardaway was mainly utilized off the bench, starting only two games out of 54 and averaging almost ten points a game. In the middle of the season, he was traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for point guard Nick Van Exel.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: With the Nuggets he started all 14 games he played with them before retiring and becoming a basketball analyst for ESPN.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: While playing for the Nuggets, Hardaway was suspended for two games and fined $10,000 by the league when he threw a television monitor onto the court.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: On March 27, 2003, Hardaway signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers, and in his first game registered a season-high 14 points and seven assists against the Chicago Bulls. By the end of his career, Hardaway competed in five NBA All-Star Games.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: On August 7, 2014, it was announced that Hardaway was named an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway was the 1989 WAC Player of the Year. He recorded 5,000 points and 2,500 assists, second fastest in NBA history after Oscar Robertson. Hardaway accomplished it in 262 games; Robertson took only 247. He held the record for most assists in Miami Heat franchise history with 1,947, until his total was surpassed by Dwyane Wade on January 16, 2010.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway shares the record for second most steals in an NBA Playoffs game, with 8 in Game 2 of the 1991 Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers and in Game 4 of the 1992 Western Conference First Round against the Seattle SuperSonics. In 1991–92, Hardaway became the 7th player in NBA history to average 20 points (23.4 ppg) and 10 assists (10.0 apg) in a season, a feat he accomplished again in 1992–93 (21.5 ppg, 10.6 apg).


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway holds the NBA record for the worst single-game shooting performance in NBA history, going 0-for-17 in a 106–102 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 27, 1991. Hardaway holds the Miami Heat's all-time record in 3-point field goals made, with 806. His number 10 was retired by the Miami Heat on October 28, 2009. On April 2, 2022, Hardaway was announced as one of thirteen members to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for the Class of 2022 later this year.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway was originally selected to play for "Dream Team II" in the 1994 FIBA World Championship but was replaced after suffering a torn knee ligament.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: He was also selected (as one of the last two players selected) for the 1998 FIBA World Championship team. The team was later replaced with CBA and college players due to the NBA lockout.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: In 2000, he played in the Sydney Olympics, scoring 5.5 points/Game and shooting .385 (15–39) from the field.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: In September 2009, he played for the NBA Generations team in the 2009 NBA Asia Challenge, a series of exhibitions against Korean Basketball League and Philippine Basketball Association players.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: During a February 14, 2007, interview on Miami's "The Dan Le Batard Show", in response to the coming out of former NBA player John Amaechi, Hardaway remarked that he would try to distance himself from a player he knew was homosexual. When asked by the radio show host whether he realized that his remarks were homophobic, Hardaway responded by saying: "Well, you know I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States." He also said that if he found out he had one or more gay teammates, he would try to get them fired.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Later in the day, Hardaway apologized for the remarks during a telephone interview with Fox affiliate WSVN in Miami. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said I hate gay people or anything like that." He further apologized on February 15 in a statement released by his agent.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: On the same day, the NBA responded to Hardaway's comments by removing him from its All-Star Weekend activities later that week. His employer, Trinity Sports, owner of the Anderson-based CBA Indiana Alley Cats, dismissed him from his position as Chief Basketball Operations Advisor, and the CBA issued a statement distancing itself from Hardaway's remarks.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: In a September 2007 interview, Hardaway spoke about his February comments, saying he "had no idea how much I hurt people. A lot of people." He described the controversy as "the biggest bump [in the road] in my life", and added, "I'm going to do whatever I can to correct it. That's all I can do."


title: Tim Hardaway

text: In an interview on February 11, 2010, on Hardcore Sports Radio on Sirius, Hardaway spoke about his recent work with The Trevor Project and The YES Institute, which he has done to educate himself on LGBT issues.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: In April 2013, when Jason Collins came out as the first active openly gay male player in a major American professional team sport, Collins said that Hardaway called him in support of his homosexuality. In July 2013, Hardaway was the symbolic first signer of a petition to put a proposed amendment to the Florida State Constitution overturning Florida Amendment 2 and allowing same-sex marriage in his home state of Florida on the ballot in 2014.


title: Tim Hardaway

text: Hardaway and his wife Yolanda reside in Michigan. They have a son, Tim Jr., and a daughter, Nia. Tim Jr. was drafted by the New York Knicks in 2013, and currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: In February 2021, the state of Texas suffered a major power crisis, which came about during three severe winter storms sweeping across the United States on February 10–11, 13–17, and 15–20. The storms triggered the worst energy infrastructure failure in Texas state history, leading to shortages of water, food, and heat. More than 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power, some for several days. At least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly, with some estimates as high as 702 killed as a result of the crisis.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: State officials including Republican governor Greg Abbott initially blamed the outages on frozen wind turbines and solar panels. However, data showed that failure to winterize power sources, like wind turbines and natural gas infrastructure, had caused the grid failure. Texas's power grid has long been separate from the two major national grids to avoid federal oversight, though it is still connected to the other national grids and Mexico's; the limited number of ties made it difficult for the state to import electricity from other states during the crisis. Deregulation of its electricity market beginning in the 1990s resulted in competition in wholesale electricity prices, but also cost cutting for contingency preparation.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The crisis drew much attention to the state's lack of preparedness for such storms, and to a report from U.S. federal regulators ten years earlier that had warned Texas that its power plants would fail in sufficiently cold conditions. Damages due to the cold wave and winter storm were estimated to be at least $195 billion, likely the most expensive disaster in the state's history. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the Texas power grid was "seconds or minutes away from" complete failure when partial grid shutdowns were implemented. During the crisis, some energy firms made billions in profits, while others went bankrupt, due to some firms being able to pass extremely high wholesale prices ($9,000/MWh, typically $50/MWh) on to consumers, while others could not, as well as this price being held at the $9,000 cap by ERCOT for allegedly two days longer than necessary; creating $16 billion in unnecessary charges.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: In 2011, Texas was hit by the Groundhog Day blizzard between February 1 and 5, resulting in rolling blackouts across more than 75% of the state. Many roads around Houston were impassable, and boil-water advisories were issued in several areas. Following this disaster, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation made several recommendations for upgrading Texas's electrical infrastructure to prevent a similar event occurring in the future, but these recommendations were ignored due to the cost of winterizing the systems. At the time the blackouts and failures in the power grid were likened to those that occurred in December 1989, after which similar recommendations were made to the state government and ERCOT, which were similarly ignored. On August 16, 2011, a 357-page report was released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in response to the February 2011 power outage in Texas.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: In mid-February 2021, a series of severe winter storms swept across the United States. This outbreak was due to the polar jet stream dipping particularly far south into the U.S., stretching from Washington to Texas, and running back north along the East Coast, allowing a polar vortex to bring very cold air across the country, and spawning multiple storms along the jet stream track as a result. This weather phenomenon resulted in record low temperatures throughout Texas, with temperatures in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio falling below temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: On February 10, a winter storm formed north of the Gulf coast, dropping significant amounts of sleet and ice on many states in the Deep South and the Ohio Valley, including Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, as well as states on the East Coast. A second storm developed off the Pacific Northwest on February 13 and began to gradually develop into an organized storm as it tracked southward toward Texas. It grew even more organized as it turned toward the northeast U.S. before splitting in half — one half continuing into Quebec and the other moving out over the Atlantic Ocean. This storm, along with various other storms from the previous two weeks, resulted in over 75% of the contiguous U.S. being covered in snow. This storm was directly responsible for nearly 10 million people losing power, with 5.2 million in the U.S. and 4.7 million in Mexico. A third winter storm caused an additional 4 million power outages, and 29 deaths, with 23 in the U.S. and 6 in Mexico. At least 246 people lost their lives during the winter storms.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The winter storm caused a record low temperature at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport of on February 16, the coldest in North Texas in 72 years. Most Texan homes, which infrequently see low temperatures, have poor insulation and are heated with inefficient electric resistance heaters, resulting in extremely high electricity demand. Power equipment in Texas was not winterized, leaving it vulnerable to extended periods of cold weather. Natural gas power generating facilities had equipment freeze up and faced shortages of fuel. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and some other politicians initially said renewable energy sources were the cause for the power outages, citing frozen wind turbines as an example of their unreliability. Viral images of a helicopter de-icing a wind turbine said to be in Texas were actually taken in 2015 in Sweden. However, wind energy accounts for only 23% of Texas power output; moreover, equipment for other energy sources such as natural gas power generating facilities either freezing up or having mechanical failures were also responsible. Governor Abbott later acknowledged that coal, natural gas, and nuclear plants had played a role. Five times more natural gas than wind power had been lost. When power was cut, it disabled some compressors that push gas through pipelines, knocking out further gas plants due to lack of supply.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: ERCOT was aware on February 13 that blackouts would be likely and the grid would have to shut off more than 10% of its demand. The next day, electricity demand exceeded 67.2 gigawatts, higher than what the grid operator had ever planned for in extreme winter weather. Overnight ERCOT ordered utilities to drop several thousand megawatts of load, but the grid frequency continued to drop as demand exceeded supply. The grid came within minutes of overloading and shutting down completely, which would have required a slow and costly black start.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: During the 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard, Texas had faced similar power outages due to frozen power equipment, after which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reported that more winterization of power infrastructure was necessary. ERCOT said that some generators since then implemented new winter "best practices," but these were on a voluntary basis and mandatory regulation had not been established. This is likely due to ERCOT's independence of the FERC therefore not having the necessary budget to upgrade the power grid to withstand colder weather after the recommendation during efforts to increase renewable energy sources.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Unlike other power interconnections, Texas does not require a reserve margin of power capacity beyond what is expected. A 2019 North American Electric Reliability Corporation report found that ERCOT had a low reserve margin of generation capacity and was the only part of the country without sufficient resources available to meet projected peak summer electricity demand.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Gov. Abbott's appointees to the Public Utility Commission of Texas ended a contract with the Texas Reliability Entity in November 2020, reducing oversight of the grid. In July, Abbott's comissioners disbanded its Oversight and Enforcement Division, dropping pending cases that ensure reliability. While not a direct cause, the Commission's minimal oversight of utility companies, limited budget, and voluntary standards restricted its ability to secure consistent performance.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: There was not only insufficient power generation capacity online, but also insufficient natural gas supply to the power plants. The failure of some gas distribution infrastructure, which had not been adequately winterized, resulted in exceedingly high prices for natural gas. Some gas compressor stations lost power when utilities began shutdowns, and overall gas supply fell by 85%. University of Texas professor Michael Webber said, "This is the moral hazard of the market which is when wind or solar or coal or nuclear underperforms, they lose money. And when gas power plants underperform they lose money. But when the gas producers underperform, they made money. And this is why the gas system gets a pass, which is it's very lucrative for it to fail, and that lucrative return shows up as political donations that curries favor that really gets the statewide officials to turn a blind eye to it."


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: By February 17, at least 21 people died from causes related to the winter storm. By February 19, the number was updated to at least 32 people who died, with deaths linked to carbon monoxide poisoning, car crashes, drownings, house fires and hypothermia. On February 21, the death toll had increased to 70. As of January 2, 2022, the total loss of life was reported to be 246.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: In addition to equipment problems, demand for electricity in Texas hit a record 69,692 megawatts (MW) on February 14 — 3,200 MW higher than the previous record set in January 2018 and 12,329 MW higher than its current capacity. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) initiated rotating outages at 1:25am on February 15. However, a retrospective "Houston Chronicle" article a year later said peak demand was even higher: 76,819 megawatts on Feb. 16, 2021.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The rotating outages prevented electricity demand from overwhelming the grid, a scenario which could have caused equipment to catch fire and power lines to go down, potentially resulting in a much more severe blackout. At the peak, over 5 million people in Texas were without power, with 11 million experiencing an outage at some point, some for more than 3 days.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: During the period of outages, wholesale electric prices was set to $9,000/megawatt-hour which was the "system cap" set by ERCOT, compared to a more typical $25/MWh. Customers with pricing plans based on wholesale prices who had power faced large bills. Some Griddy customers signed up for wholesale variable rates plans allowed by the Texas deregulated electricity market found themselves facing over $5,000 bills for five days of service during the storm. Wholesale prices were kept at an artificially inflated level of $9,000 for about four days, an amount normally only hit momentarily, in fear of instability even after electricity demand dropped. Total Texas electricity costs on February 16 alone reached $10.3 billion, greater than the $9.8 billion spent in all of 2020. The legislature allowed issuance of about $5 billion in bonds to pay for it, or $200 per Texan. The then-CEO of ERCOT testified under oath that Governor Abbot had ordered power prices to stay at this level, which led to the bankruptcy of the Brazos Electric co-op.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Water service was disrupted for more than 12 million people due to pipes freezing and bursting. More than 200,000 people in Texas live in areas where water systems were completely non-operational. On February 17, residents of Austin were asked not to drip their faucets despite the risk of pipes freezing as the demand for water in the city was more than 2.5 times the amount supplied on the previous day. The city had lost more than of water due to burst pipes by February 18, according to Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros. Nearly 12 million people were advised to boil their tap water before consumption due to low water pressure throughout the pipe network.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Due to the inclement weather conditions and extensive power outages, most grocery stores statewide could not keep up with the increased demand for food and sundry items. Many stores were forced to close due to lack of power; the few that remained open completely ran out of most staple food items like bread, milk, and eggs. Officials also warned that the shortages could be long term, stating that 60% of the region's grapefruit crop and 100% of the orange crop were lost due to the weather.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The inclement weather caused many fire hydrants to be unusable in emergency situations. In one case, firefighters near the San Antonio area had to rely on water tenders to deliver between 2,000 and 3,000 gallons of water to the scene of a fire as the hydrant was unusable.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Plumbing in buildings throughout the state burst due to freezing. Structures were damaged by water and streets were flooded. A shortage of plumbers, in part due to excessive licensing requirements kept in place by Governor Abbott despite the legislature removing them, led to months-long waits for repairs.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Significant releases of pollutants due to stopping and starting fossil fuel infrastructure such as chemical plants and fuel refineries were reported. These included one ton of the carcinogen benzene, two tons of sulfur dioxide, 12 tons of natural gas, and 34 tons of carbon monoxide.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Targa Resources' Wildcat and Sand Hills natural gas plants released four times the emissions of the nation's largest refinery during the freeze.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The Texas power grid crisis has expanded to being more than just a natural disaster and a failure by governance. This crisis has exposed the environmental injustices within Texas and how badly natural disasters and disproportionate preparedness can affect those who are not valued within society. For example, the predominantly low-income and latino neighborhoods in Houston were ones who were left without any power or water, yet these communities were situated near a major oil refinery whose power was still running. These forms of power outages can be deadly for communities such as these because they leave them very vulnerable medically and physically and they are not as well prepared for conditions that could affect them in such harsh ways. These similar communities around all of Texas were hit hard. They were most vulnerable to be left without any source of power since they most likely did not have access to things such as backup generators. The energy injustices during this time were very prominent as the rolling blackouts were not all equal. For example, in Austin, the lights to the capitol building were illuminated and running while East Austin was left in complete darkness. East Austin is a historically prominent black and latino neighborhood and yet they were left without power or water meanwhile other nearby areas of the city were lit up. Results from a study conducted in 2021 found that at a county-level more Hispanic residents were experiencing more severe power outages. This study also found that Black residents reported power outages lasting more than 24 hours. This further shows the disproportionality in power and energy to these specific communities. This power crisis was no mistake, energy and disaster relief was able to reach parts of Texas during harsh hurricane seasons such as with Hurricane Harvey, yet energy companies were not ready for a snowstorm although they were given warning. Representative James Talarico warned of how a disaster of this magnitude is due to “Years of deregulation, years of privatization. Years of neglect.”


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Throughout the aftermath of this storm, many experts were discussing the transition needed to take for a natural disaster to not happen at this level again. Currently the electricity markets are designed based on how socially valuable they are, yet they go unmeasured when it comes to social and ethical standards. Instead they are measured based on economic factors and tools which don't take into account what may happen in case of harsh storms and natural disasters which can leave many without power and struggling.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Right after the storm many communities organized themselves into support groups for one another as well as activists for change to the energy grid and infrastructure. Many homes were disproportionately left without power and water for periods of time throughout the storm, meaning this form of community organization was in direct opposition to how the crisis was handled. Mutual aid in Austin, Texas was significant in helping the community restructure after the storm. East Austin, which was left without power although surrounding areas held power and heating, has a history of being gentrified and pushed out of the area. As Austin is its own growing city, constant new infrastructure and improvements are being made to the city to accommodate the rising numbers of people and companies. Many areas such as East Austin are left without the improvements and new infrastructure, if they do receive these improvements then they are not able to afford the rising cause in property taxes that come with the newer infrastructure. Neighborhoods similar to these were shown to be affected more harshly throughout the winter storm than others since they are more likely to struggle to gain access to food, but the large support from mutual aid organizations was able to sustain and help these communities. Austins mutual aid network spans across different organizations that aim to help different communities, identities, and affiliations. Although this group had the longest recovery period after the winter storm they have been able to move past this disaster due to community help and organization. The Texas power grid crisis emphasized the issues within the energy grid and infrastructure throughout the state and cities impacted.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The combination of below freezing temperatures with no power for heat led people to undertake dangerous ways of heating their homes. Deaths attributed to the storm include cases of carbon monoxide poisoning from people running their cars or generators indoors for heating. At least 300 cases of carbon monoxide poisoning were reported.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas was somewhat hampered by the power outage. Water and grid supply were cut off from hospitals. Hospitals still were able to operate with their own power generators. Shipments of vaccines were delayed and facilities that would not be able to store vaccines properly were asked to transfer vaccines to those who could. In most cases, vaccinations were delayed because it was too dangerous for people to travel. About 1000 doses of vaccine were lost as a result of problems.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Due to the continued power outages across the state, many were faced with freezing temperatures in their homes. The freezing temperatures potentially caused the death of an 11-year old boy, an 84-year-old widow, and a 75-year-old veteran, among others. Zoo, domesticated, and wild animals were also at risk due to the low temperatures with animal sanctuaries and veterinary clinics identifying an increase in hypothermia cases in the animals.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Governor Abbott issued a disaster declaration on February 12, whereby he mobilized various departments including the Texas Military Department for snow clearance and assistance to stranded motorists. As the situation worsened, Governor Abbott requested a Federal Emergency Declaration on February 13, which President Biden approved on February 14.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: In an effort to alleviate the energy shortage, Governor Abbott ordered natural gas producers not to export gas out of state and to sell it within Texas instead. He also called for the resignation of ERCOT leaders.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Former Representative Beto O'Rourke ran a virtual phone bank to contact over 780,000 seniors across the state.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Colorado City, Texas, Mayor Tim Boyd faced extreme backlash after he made comments criticizing citizens for not preparing for the winter storm and stating: "the strong will survive and the weak will perish." He resigned following the controversy.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Senator Ted Cruz faced heavy scrutiny over his trip to Cancún, Mexico. Though he initially claimed he was dropping off his wife and daughters, text messages from his wife revealed the hastily planned nature of the trip as an escape from the freezing conditions. He received condemnation from his political allies and rivals for leaving the state during a crisis and traveling internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that day, he returned back to Texas admitting that the vacation was a mistake, receiving further criticism for appearing to blame his young daughters for the trip, claiming they begged him to go. Cruz on February 22 tweeted the news about the hike of electricity rates in Texas, calling "(s)tate and local regulators should act swiftly to prevent this injustice". This was criticized as hypocrisy because Cruz had been a strong advocate of the Texan power grid deregulation, one of the major cited reasons which led to this mass power outage.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Former governor Rick Perry said, "Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business."


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: On February 14, President Biden declared that an emergency exists in the State of Texas, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide emergency assistance throughout Texas. FEMA sent 60 generators, as well as water and blankets, to the state.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Local churches, community centers and other locations opened warming stations for affected individuals as well as asked for physical and monetary donations to help those affected. Several local mutual aide groups responded with supply delivery and distribution, particularly in the hard-hit Houston and Austin areas. Celebrities such as Beyoncé and Reese Witherspoon, teamed up with companies to provide monetary relief, donated personally, and supplied donation links to their social media followers to raise relief and awareness. Through his "We're Texas" virtual benefit concert, Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila Alves McConaughey raised over $7.7 million to continue support for those affected by the storm.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez organized a fundraiser to provide food, water, and shelter to affected Texans, raising $2 million in its first day. She followed up with a trip to Houston to help alongside volunteers with recovery. She along with other Democrats toured the damage left behind by the storm as well as distribution centers and delivery sites. In the end, she raised $4.7 million.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: On February 16, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott declared that ERCOT reform is an emergency priority for the state legislature, and there would be an investigation of the power outage to determine long-term solutions. The legislature held hearings with power plant chief executives, but not with natural gas industry leaders.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: In March 2021, Congress launched an investigation into the power crisis by requesting documents relating to winter weather preparedness from the Texas electric grid manager and ERCOT.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The Railroad Commission blamed power producers for gas supply issues, even though its chair Christi Craddick was aware of gas supply problems prior to the outages. Cold weather disrupted 22 gas processing plants two days before blackouts began.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is investigating anomalies in the natural gas market, where companies may have illegally manipulated prices. Intrastate pipelines are not required to report their tariffs like interstate pipelines, making it harder to investigate. FERC was unable to say if there was price gouging. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton has not announced investigations into energy prices.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Five members of ERCOT unaffiliated with Texas entities resigned due to the power failures. All five lived out of state and one lived in Canada.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The ERCOT board of directors voted to fire its CEO, Bill Magness, who turned down his $800,000 severance package.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: ERCOT admitted that there could be blackouts in winter 2022, reporting that there was enough generation for "normal" winter weather.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: On March 1st 2021, DeAnn T. Walker, the chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission (PUC), the Texas agency responsible for overseeing ERCOT and the state's electricity grid, resigned after a week of tough questioning from Texas legislators at a round of hearings. Governor Greg Abbott, who had originally appointed Walker, filled the vacant chairperson position by promoting PUC Commissioner Arthur D'Andrea two days later. On March 9, 2021, D'Andrea was recorded reassuring utility investors that he would protect their profits in a 48-minute call that was later leaked to the press. D'Andrea resigned his post a week later, two hours after the call was leaked. At issue is $16 billion in alleged overcharges that accrued when ERCOT set the price of electricity at the $9,000-a-megawatt-hour maximum for nearly two days after widespread outages ended late the night of February 17 instead of resetting the prices the following day. Power generation entities benefited from the inflated prices, but retail companies and entities that buy the generated power to sell directly to consumers have gone bankrupt.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: In March 2021, the Texas State Legislature introduced a package of bills that would put measures in place to prevent a future power outage in extreme temperatures. House Bill 11 defined extreme weather conditions to provide a guideline for regulators and industry to design around, and House Bill 14 would create the Texas Supply Chain Security and Mapping Committee to prioritize energy needs during extreme weather, but neither bill passed.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: In May, the Legislature approved House Bill 4492, which sets up a loan plan for power companies but which excluded direct credits for consumers, and Senate Bill 3, which includes a requirement of certain gas facilities to weatherize. SB 3 limited weatherization requirements to "critical" facilities and excluded an amendment to provide grants for backup power at health care facilities. The original version of the bill would have fined facilities that failed to weatherize, hired a hundred inspectors to ensure compliance, and created a committee to determine the most important gas facilities to power plants, but these provisions were removed by the Texas House of Representatives. Democratic proposals required energy conservation, increase penalties for failing to weatherize, and require progress within six months of enactment were excluded. Governor Abbott said "everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas" when he signed the bill.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: The Railroad Commission then proposed a rule that would allow gas companies to claim their facilities were not prepared for winter operation and exempt themselves from weatherizing. This was condemned in a Senate committee hearing and replaced by a rule proposal without the opt-out provision, but it will not be finalized by winter 2022 and may not be strong enough.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: To cover debt incurred due to high natural gas prices, utilities outside Texas have had to raise prices. Oklahoma Natural Gas is charging customers up to $7.80 per month for the next 25 years to securitize its costs of $1.4 billion during the crisis. The natural gas industry reaped a windfall profit of $11 billion during the crisis. Texas gas utilities were permitted by the Railroad Commission to issue bonds to cover what they paid to suppliers, to be paid off by customers. Municipal gas companies have also added surcharges to bills.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: On February 19, 2021, a lawsuit was filed in Nueces County and raised allegations against ERCOT, claiming that there were repeated warnings of weaknesses in the state's electric power infrastructure that were ignored. Also named in the lawsuit was the American Electric Power utility company. An additional lawsuit against ERCOT was filed in Fort Bend County. The company has raised claims of sovereign immunity to the legal cases, a legal principle that protects some government agencies from lawsuits if the money spent on legal fees would disrupt "key government services". This defense has been used by ERCOT in other legal cases, and has been upheld by courts.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: A class action lawsuit was filed against Texas electricity retailer Griddy for potential price gouging by a Chambers County resident after receiving a $9,000 bill for electricity during the week of the storm, compared to an average $200 bill.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: CPS Energy in San Antonio filed a lawsuit against Energy Transfer Partners saying it committed price gouging, charging $500 per MMBTU rather than a "reasonable" $40.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Despite investigations and legislation after the power crisis that killed hundreds, as of January 2022, little has changed in the electricity system and Texas remains at risk of major blackouts in another winter storm. Power company Vistra, which is investing $80 million to prepare its plants for cold weather, says another power crisis could happen. The gas industry is not similarly preparing to ensure operation and is resisting regulation by the Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees the oil and gas industry but whose commissioners' campaigns are funded by it. Gas production fell by 25% on January 2, 2022, when temperatures in West Texas fell to 14 degrees. The CEO of a Texas-based manufacturer of process heating and freeze protection equipment said Texas has not invested in technologies for gas winterization, which would cost $85–200 million per year.


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: Governor Abbott said in November 2021, "I can guarantee the lights will stay on," though in February 2022 he said, "No one can guarantee that there won't be a load shed event."


title: 2021 Texas power crisis

text: A cold snap in February 2022 was not as cold or prolonged as that in 2021, so demand did not surpass supply even as 12% of natural gas systems failed.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: The Chevrolet Corvette (C5) is the fifth generation of the Chevrolet Corvette sports car, produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1997 through 2004 model years. Production variants include the high performance Z06. Racing variants include the C5-R, a 24 Hours of Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans GTS/GT1 winner. The C5 Corvette was the first GM vehicle to feature the third generation small block "LS" engines. Pop-up headlights were featured on a Corvette for the final time during this generation.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: The C5 was unveiled on January 6, 1997 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The fifth generation was originally intended to debut in 1993 to celebrate the Corvette's 40th anniversary, but it was delayed by financial troubles and changes in staff within GM. A major change from its predecessor the C4, the C5 had a hydroformed box frame, a design that offered an improved structural platform, especially for a convertible bodystyle. To improve handling, the transmission was relocated to form an integrated, rear-mounted transaxle assembly. Connected to the all-new LS1 engine via a torque tube, the engine/transmission arrangement enabled a 50-50% front-rear weight distribution. The LS1 engine initially produced , subsequently increased in 2001 to . The 4L60-E automatic transmission carried over from previous models, but the manual was replaced by a Borg-Warner T-56 6-speed capable of a top speed. Relative to the C4, the new platform and structural design substantially reduced squeaks and rattles.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: In the inaugural model year (1997), only the fastback coupé (more like a hatchback coupé) was offered, with the convertible – the first to offer a trunk since 1962 – following later in August 1997 for MY 1998. In the summer of 1998, a third bodystyle, the hardtop (also referred to as the "fixed-roof coupé" or "FRC"), was added to the 1999 MY lineup. This bodystyle, as its name suggests, featured a fixed top (no removable targa top panel as with the fastback coupé) with a roofline shape and trunk space similar to that of the convertible, as well as a distinctive notchback-style rear window.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: Aside from cosmetic differences (new wheel styles, paint colors, pace car/commemorative editions in 1998, 2003, and 2004, etc.), engine power increase, and new offerings for optional equipment, there were few fundamental changes from one model year to the next within the production run of the C5. One of the more popular "high-tech" options introduced in the Corvette line was a head-up display or HUD, while another innovation was the Active Handling System (first available as an option for 1998, then standard on all 2001 models).


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: The C5 was also the first Corvette to incorporate a drive-by-wire throttle; and variable-effort steering, whereby the assist level of the power steering is varied according to vehicle speed (more at lower speeds, less at higher speeds). Also notable, though rarely discussed, the C5 generation was the first model to adopt the parallel or 'tandem' windshield wiper configuration, abandoning the opposed configuration that was used on every previous Corvette model since the first in 1953.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: In contrast to the reputation of high-performance vehicles for poor fuel economy, the C5 achieves comparatively high EPA ratings of / mpg (city/highway) with the automatic transmission and / with the manual transmission, allowing it to avoid the "gas guzzler" tax that is levied against most other vehicles in the Corvette's class. A number of factors are responsible for this: the relatively light weight of the C5 (a curb weight under ; Chevrolet went so far as to omit the spare tire as a weight-saving measure, relying upon run-flat tires instead); the C5's low drag coefficient; and the vehicle's tendency to upshift into the higher gears as soon as possible. The manual transmission's Computer-Aided Gear Shifting results in an obligatory shift from 1st gear directly into 4th gear under certain driving conditions; the system can be deactivated through PCM tuning or the use of an aftermarket device.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: Suspension choices for the base model C5 were limited to the standard suspension (RPO FE1), with options for either the autocross-inspired FE3 Sport Suspension (included with the Z51 Performance & Handling Package and standard on the 1999–2000 FRC) or the F45 Selective Ride Control Suspension, which permitted "on-the-fly" driver selection of different ride characteristics (sport or touring). Late in the production run (starting with the 2003 model year), the F55 Magnetic Selective Ride Control Suspension replaced the F45 as the third suspension choice. The racing-inspired FE4 suspension used for the Z06 is stiffer than any offered on the base model C5, and is unique to that model with no optional suspension offered. The C5's suspension consisted of independent unequal-length double wishbones with transverse fiberglass mono-leaf springs and optional magnetorheological dampers.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: The C5 is competitive in regards to 0–60 mph acceleration times with almost all premium sports cars of its era, including the Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, and the Ferrari 355. A composite of published performance numbers for the base-model coupé and convertible gives a 0–60 mph time of around 4.5 seconds, and a standing quarter-mile time of around 13.3 seconds at 108 mph (both times for a vehicle equipped with the 6-speed manual transmission).


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: The C5's modular body panels use a lightweight composite material known in the automotive industry as SMC or Sheet Molded Composite, a type of fiberglass that is blended and bonded with resins. SMC provides better protection against direct blows because it is very stiff and will not dent. The floor boards on the C5 are a composite consisting of SMC with balsa wood in the middle. Balsa wood was chosen for its stiffness, light weight, and sound absorption qualities. The all aluminium LS1 overhead valve engine is much lighter than its bi-metal (cast iron block, aluminum heads) predecessor, the LT1, and provides for a much lower hoodline when compared to an overhead cam design of relative displacement. The composite leaf springs are much lighter and sit much lower than typical coil springs and help provide the C5 with its smooth ride characteristics and low ride height.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: Ending production on July 2, 2004, the C5 became both the last generation of Corvette, and alongside Lotus Esprit (the last Esprit rolled off the production line on February 20, 2004), the last car overall to use pop-up headlamps.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: A successor to the ZR-1 made its debut in 2001 as the Z06, giving a nod to the high-performance Z06 version of the C2 Corvette of the 1960s. The Z06 uses a tuned version of the standard LS1 engine (designated the LS6), with a higher power output of , later bumped to starting in 2002. Although its total output was less than that of the previous late model ZR-1, the Z06 was much lighter, and could out-perform the ZR-1 in every category except top speed. It also cost substantially less than the ZR-1. The Z06 had a total curb weight of . The Z06 model was only available with the six-speed manual transmission.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: Chevrolet engineered several modifications for the Z06 to put the increased power to its best use, starting with the most structurally rigid bodystyle — the hardtop or FRC (Fixed Roof Coupé). The new components added to the Z06 included: uprated FE4 suspension, larger wheels and tires, revised gearing ratios, and functional brake cooling ducts. The Z06 is lighter than a standard C5 hatchback coupe due to weight-saving measures such as a titanium exhaust system, thinner glass, lighter wheels, non-EMT tires, reduced sound proofing, fixed rear radio aerial, and a lighter battery. Starting with the 2002 model year, power was increased to at 6,000 rpm and of torque at 4,800 rpm, due to a larger air intake, stiffer valve springs, lighter sodium filled valves and more aggressive camshaft lift and timing.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: The 2004 Z06 Commemorative Edition was equipped with a carbon fiber hood, saving an additional of weight. Other unique characteristics of the Z16 (Commemorative Edition Z06) are the polished aluminum wheels, special paint color and striping, commemorative-edition badging and wheel center caps. The Z16 also received revised shock damping tuning for improved handling. The Z16 option accounted for the majority of Z06 Corvettes in 2004, totaling 2,025 units, with 325 units shipped overseas.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: The performance figures for the version of the Z06 include an acceleration time from 0– in 3.9 seconds and 11.9 seconds in the as tested by GM High-Tech Performance magazine in October 2004.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: The C5 Corvette is widely considered a very reliable platform for a high-performing sports car (standard C5 coupe) and supercar (Z06).


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: Common failure points on all C5 Corvettes include the hazard switch, fuel tank level sensors (requires cleaning due to dirty gas sulfur deposits), and steering column lock message (an aftermarket fix exists).


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: Common failure points on pre-2001 Corvettes include the Electronic Brake Control Module (EBC) which is difficult to source due to no longer being produced.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: Some 2004 Corvettes have a redesigned fuel tank system which makes repair very labor intensive and expensive.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: Valve spring failures are known to affect late production 2002-mid 2003 Z06s. The permanent fix is replacing the original yellow valve springs with inexpensive redesigned OEM GM valve springs, or with aftermarket valve springs.


title: Chevrolet Corvette (C5)

text: In 1998, the newly introduced convertible version of the C5 was chosen as the Pace Car the Indianapolis 500 race, and a Pace Car Replica (RPO Z4Z) was offered to the public. Aside from lacking the equipment necessary for actual pace car duties (light bar, special racing harnesses, etc.), there was little difference between the Pace Car Replica C5 and the vehicle that actually saw duty during the race. The Pace Car Replica package consisted of a special paint color ("Radar Blue"), unique interior colors (black and yellow), painted yellow wheels, and special pace car decals. The Pace Car Replica package also included other optional equipment: the newly introduced Active Handling System (RPO JL4); an electronically tuned AM/FM radio with CD player and a Bose speaker system; an electronic dual-zone heating & air conditioning system; and leather adjustable sport bucket seats. While regarded by many as the most garish Corvette appearance package offered to date, the 1998 Pace Car Replicas nevertheless enjoy a strong and loyal following of owners and collectors.