Mahamat Al-Khatim | |
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Born | |
Nationality | Chad, Central African Republic |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Central African Patriotic Movement |
Years of service | 2014–present |
Mahamat Al-Khatim is a leader of Central African Patriotic Movement armed group in the Central African Republic.
Mahamat Al-Khatim is a Chadian Arab belonging to the Salamat ethnic group. [1] At some point, he rebelled against the Chadian government, but was reintegrated into the Chad National Army in 1997. [2] He was among the so-called "liberators", fighters who had supported Bozizé's coup d’état in 2003. In 2013 he joined the Séléka coalition. [2]
In July 2015 he created the Central African Patriotic Movement armed group which controlled areas in northern parts of the Central African Republic, including Moyenne-Sido, Kabo and Kaga-Bandoro. [1] In December 2020, al-Khatim and the MPC joined the Coalition of Patriots for Change led by François Bozizé. He ordered his fighters to attack Bangui in January 2021. [3] Due to the failure of this coup attempt, al-Khatim was forced to flee the Central African Republic and, as of June 2021, he resides in the capital of Chad, N'Djamena. [4]
Togerther with Abakar Sabone, ANS detained Al-Khatim on 10 April 2024 for exposing the Chadian government embezzlement of Angolan fund for the Central African warlord who settled in Chad. [5] Chadian authorities released him on the first week of March 2025. [6]