- Fighting between the national army, alongside Russian mercenaries and Rwandan forces, and elements of the Coalition of Patriots for Change (Coalition des patriotes pour le changement, CPC) decreased, but was at times intense. In some attacks, civilians were killed. Schools and hospitals remained targets, and some that had been damaged during previous fighting remained so. According to the United Nations, “more than half a million children aged 3-17 … are out of school, or are at risk of having to leave due to a critical lack of qualified teachers and inadequate school facilities.”