The Civil War in the Center African Republic reaches a critical stage as French forces begin to intervene as the Socialists Forces appear.
Bangui
Bangui was an easy capture for France. Any resistance was by gang forces and not real militaries and many of the people where desperate and hungry for food and medical supplies that many of them flocked to the French banner. It would be an easy victory and one that could be shown back home to the public. Many of the anti-balaka militas where willing to open talks with France on getting the country back into an actual state. However, not all of them where and these fell into two camps. The more extremest, anti-islamic ones went to join the HCA while the ones more angry at such a late stage French intervention are aligning more with the SAR.
SAR-French Perimeter
The French had indeed boxed in the SAR. For now atleast. They where able to take , Berbérati, and Bimbo with ease but Sosso and Katakpo would end up being issues. The SAR, having some veterans from Mauritania, where expecting French intervention once they fully announced their presence. Infact, they had actually gone to those two cities first before securing all of the reserve. A hard propaganda campaign went on in these two cities. They showed the anti-balaka forces the destruction France rained down in Nigeria and Mauritania. They showed them how Europe sought to dominate Africa and how their failed colonial policies lead to all these conflicts. How they would ignore corruption to maintain the statues quo(wisely avoiding any discussion on Zimbabwe).
This made the populace mad and the SAR was able to secure their help. When the French arrived in both cities, they found well armed and well trained troops to confront them. In Katakpo, the troops had ended up mining all three roads leading into the city, creating their own underground supply lines into the Reserve to get what they needed. In the jungle around the forest, they had also placed a variety traps, had small teams of snipers and even hidden bits of artillery to try and stop the French from their encircling tactic.
Sosso was different. Instead the SAR played a large cat and mouse game with the French and as soon as the French had the advantage, the quickly scattered into the dense jungles, in many different directions. The French would notice, many of the civilians had been evacuated as well, leaving the town leaving only around 3,000 left. That's when the artillerly strikes begun the next day, raining down the French, trying to completely decimate the troops they had to secure the town. Slash and burn tactic.
While all this was going on, the SAR's home territory was not sitting idle. With a direct tieline to the The Republic of the Congo, and thus their true benefators and supporters, they where in much better condition and then what their compatriots had been in other wars. They had the supplies, shelter and morale to wait things out. And that's what they did. Wait things out. Within the next few days and week, France would suddenly find its aircraft under attack, despite flying high above normal MANPADS. Infact they where being attacked by full blown vehicle launched SAMS. The SAMs seemed extremely advanced, where able to camo themselves in the jungle and strike within 4 seconds of spotting French planes. French planes that flow lower would find themselves being struck at by AZP S-60s, which could strike up to 20,000 ft in the air.
Their own artillery and camo vehicles where being countered by the SAR's, which had weapons that seemed to be of Chinese make. None of these battles would be close range, instead having long range battles with French postions. While these battles where going on, SAR minesweeping teams, being providing advanced equipment to find and disable mines, would try and slowly remove the minefields the French had placed.
At the end of all this, the SAR would find itself boosted, as a large amount of foreign troops, Chinese volunteers, began arriving in The Republic of the Congo and making their way towards the CAR. They totaled 25,000 in all and would be a huge boon to the socialist forces.