Politics of Benin century until the colonial period, the Kingdom of Dahomey (whose borders encompassed more than present day Benin) was ruled by an "Oba". The French were the colonial power from 1892 to 1960, when independence was finally achieved. Between 1960 and 1972, a series of military coups in Benin (known until 1975 as the Republic of Dahomey) brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought Major Mathieu Kérékou to power as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. The Revolutionary Party of the People of Benin (PRPB) remained in complete power until the beginning of the
Central African Republic Civil War (2012–present) candidate for President in the election that would conclude the transition. On 13 September 2013, Djotodia formally disbands Seleka, 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-seleka. Self-defense militias called Antibalaka previously formed to fight crime on a local level, had organized into militias against abuses by Seleka soldiers. On 5 December 2013, called "A Day That Will Define Central African Republic", the antibalaka militias coordinated an attack on Bangui against its Muslim population, killing more