Central African Republic on Wednesday swore in its new president, former math teacher Faustin-Archange Touadera, who promised to preserve peace and restore stability after three years of violence between Muslim and Christian militias.

Touadera’s inauguration coincided with France’s announcement that it will end military intervention this year in the poor but mineral-rich country, AFP reported.

Thousands of people have died in fighting between Christian and Muslim militias since 2013. An estimated 369,500 people have been internally displaced as of August 2015, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center.

French forces have worked to stabilize the country until a U.N. peacekeeping force is in place. Both missions have been tarnished by allegations of child sexual abuse, Associated Press reported.

Touadera, 58, was the surprise winner of February’s presidential election — the first since the outbreak of violence. He promised to carry out his duties “without any ethnic bias,” and to revamp the army into an apolitical and secular force. He asked the country to work for national reconciliation.

Regional and foreign officials attended the inauguration in the main stadium of capital Bangui including President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, Denis Sassou Nguesso from the Republic of Congo, and defence ministers of former colonial ruler France.

The inauguration marks the last stage of political transition after Christian former President Francois Bozize was ousted in 2013 by the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance, AFP reported.

After Bozize lost power, rebels attacked villages, prompting retaliation on minority Muslims by Christian-dominated militia.

France launched Operation Sangaris in December 2013, during the height of the violence. At the time, Central African Republic was “on the brink of pre-genocidal scenarios,” said French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian Wednesday in Bangui.

“In the space of two years, the Sangaris force restored calm and prevented the unacceptable,” he said. The operation, which had 2,500 troops at its peak, will be wrapped up in 2016, he said.

The security issues are not resolved yet, Le Drian said, but the country has “emerging from a long period of trouble and uncertainty,” AFP reported.

Pope Francis visited the country in November — his first trip to a war zone — pleading for peace and reconciliation. Weeks later, a constitutional referendum limiting the president’s tenure was approved by a large majority, clearing the way for elections on Dec. 30.

Since the pope’s visit, relative peace has prevailed, but nearly all the country’s Muslims fled to the northern half or across the borders to Chad and Cameroon, according to Associated Press. Touadera said Wednesday that the country will stay united despite fears of secession, AP reported.

“The highest of priorities is that Central Africans live in peace together throughout the country,” Touadera said, promising to disarm fighters on both sides. “Central African Republic is indivisible and it will stay that way.”

Both Touadera and the runner-up candidate, Anicet Georges Dologuele, are Christians and campaigned on promises to help reunify the country, according to AP.

A former rector of the University of Bangui, Touadera ran as an independent candidate and took almost 20 percent of the votes in the first round of voting that included 30 contenders, DailyMail reported.

Touadera — the so-called people’s candidate — is popular — partly due to a measure he introduced to pay government salaries directly into bank accounts, ending decades of late and unpaid wages, AFP reported.

He will face huge challenges to raise revenue.

“(The country) remains cut off from its income due to the systematic bleeding of revenue by armed groups that have set themselves up as customs officers (and) tax officials,” said Enoch Derant Lakoue, a presidential candidate, according to AFP.

Central African economist Achille Nzotene described it as “a titanic economic recovery effort.”

Touadera will be dependent on the international community to underwrite his government’s budget and security.

Putting in place an effective and non-partisan army will be another huge challenge. The army, estimated to be 7,000-to-8,000 strong, is a ragtag force of poorly paid, poorly trained soldiers who lack basic equipment.

“There has to be a legitimate army and not one that is divided along ethnic lines and networks,” said the French defense minister.

Some question whether Touadera can deal with the armed bands that roam the country, attacking civilians and exploiting the country’s gold production, DailyMail reported. Can he restore the wrecked economy of a mostly rural country where the administration has vanished in entire regions?

Attending the swearing-in ceremony was Nadege, a shopkeeper who lives with her six children in a Bangui camp for displaced people. “I want Touadera to disarm the militia. We have suffered too much,” she said, according to AFP.

The inauguration is a “great event which will allow us to finally bury the past,” said engineer Igor Ali, 29.