UN: As many as 100 killed in CAR fighting
May 17, 2017
Militia fighting spreads in rural areas of Central African Republic, with UN official calling it ‘highly worrying’.
Cameroonian peacekeepers guard the village of Bambara, Central African Republic, in April [Baz Ratner/Reuters]
As many as 100 people were killed last week in militia violence in southern Central African Republic, the United Nations has said, expressing “grave alarm” over the spread of fighting fuelled by ethnic and religious rivalries.
Among the victims were six UN peacekeepers, marking the deadliest month for the UN mission MINUSCA since it began in 2014.
The violence represents a new escalation in a conflict that began in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters seized power and ousted then-president Francois Bozize, prompting reprisal killings from Christian anti-Balaka militias.
The UN high commissioner for human rights warned on Tuesday the violence in areas previously spared major bloodshed was “highly worrying”.
“The hard-earned relative calm in [the capital] Bangui and some of the bigger towns in CAR risks being eclipsed by the descent of some rural areas into increasing sectarian violence, with defenceless civilians – as usual – paying the highest price,” Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said.
