DAMARA, Central African Republic - More than 30 truckloads of troops from Chad lined the two-lane highway just outside of Damara on Wednesday, supporting Central African Republic government forces who want to block a new rebel coalition from reaching the capital.

In a display of force, the turbaned fighters held their rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons they have threatened to use if the rebels seeking to oust President Francois Bozize push that far south.

Gen. Jean Felix Akaga, who heads the regional force known as FOMAC, said Wednesday that a push on Damara, just 45 miles north of the capital, would be “a declaration of war” on the 10 Central African states.

“For us, Damara is the red line that the rebels cannot cross,” Akaga said. “If they attack Damara, we will attack.”

The multinational force took journalists to Damara, where they touted the strength of the Chadian troops, who along with forces from Republic of Congo and Gabon are helping to stabilize the area.

The rebels, though, appear to be holding their positions after taking a string of towns including Sibut, which is 70 miles farther north from Damara.

In 2003, troops under Bozize seized the capital amid volleys of machine-gun and mortar fire, and he then dissolved the constitution and parliament. Now a decade later it is Bozize who himselfcould be ousted from power.

On Wednesday, he announced through a decree read on state radio that he was dismissing his son, Francis, as defense minister. Chief of Staff Guillaume Lapo also was being replaced.

The president already haspromised to form a coalition government with rebels and to negotiate without conditions. It’s a sign of how seriously Bozize is threatened by the rebel groups who call themselves Seleka, which means alliance in the Sango language.

Bozize said there’s one point not up for negotiation: He does not intend to leave office before his term ends in 2016.

“We can’t destroy the country. I don’t think that a transition is a good solution for the rebels, for Central African Republic or for the international community,” said Cyriaque Gonda, a spokesman for the political coalition behind Bozize.

But mediators for the government and others note the rebel groups - known by an alphabet soup of acronyms in French, UFDR, CPJP, FDPC and CPSK - want Bozize gone. And that’s the only issue the disparate groups seem unified on. Seleka is a shaky alliance that lumps together former enemies.

In September 2011, fighting between the CPJP and the UFDR left at least 50 people dead in the town of Bria and more than 700 homes destroyed.

“Even if they show unity in the military action, we know that they are politically very disunited, the only thing that holds them together is the opposition to the current president,” said Roland Marchal, a Paris-based expert on Central African Republic. “If they take control of the capital I think that divisions would appearquickly.”

Gonda, who has negotiated on behalf of the government with the rebels, said some of them couldn’t even accept sitting together as recently as 2008.

Meanwhile, in some parts of the capital, Bangui, a city of 700,000, life continued as normal, while in others the military buildup was evident.

Trucks full of soldiers bounced on rutted roads dotted with shacks where people can charge mobile phones. Police officers stopped vehicles at intersections. Troops from neighboring nations have arrived including about 120 soldiers each from Republic of Congo and Gabon to help stabilize the area between rebel and the government forces.

In the Bimbo neighborhood, traders went about their business, selling everything from leafy greens to meat at roadside stands.

“We don’t support what the rebels are doing,” said banana farmer Narcisse Ngo, as a young boy played nearby with a monkey corpse for sale along with other meat. “They should be at the table negotiating without weapons. We are all Central Africans.”

The United Nations called on the government and the rebels Wednesday to focus on dialogue that can avert violence and lead to a peaceful resolution of the conflict and respect for the 2008 Libreville Comprehensive Peace Agreement. That deal was signed by the government and three major rebel groups.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky reiterated the U.N. Security Council’s call last week for all parties to refrain from any acts of violence against civilians, respect human rights and seek a peaceful solution.

“We welcome regional efforts to seek a political solution and reinforce security,” Nesirky said at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

While the United Nations has temporarily withdrawn its staff members from Central African Republic, Nesirky said the world body remains engaged in efforts to resolve the crisis.

Information for this article was contributed by Oleg Cetinic and Edith M. Lederer of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 01/03/2013