Towards the end of 2012, rebels were rapidly approaching the capital, and the crisis was worsening. In 2007, South Africa and the CAR signed a Bilateral Military Cooperation agreement, under which South Africa provided technical training to the army personnel in the CAR. When the rebel attacks began in 2012, the agreement was also due for renewal. What it meant was that if the South African army trainers remained in the CAR beyond December 2012, they would have been without any legal cover.