In recent years the Central African Republic (CAR) has posed some of the most vexing questions in Africa: How does a relatively large country (roughly the size of France), with a small population (4.5 million) and vast resources (including gold, diamonds, and timber), become a failed state? How does a place that has avoided major conflicts over its 57 years of independence and one that was most often seen as a haven for refugees from neighboring war-torn countries suddenly find itself become a killing ground?

Seeking answers to these questions, photographer Marcus Bleasdale and writer Peter Gwin traveled throughout the Central African Republic as it has reeled from a brutal civil war that has left thousands of its citizens dead, nearly