Over 100 killed in CAR militia violence, UN says

A report by the United Nations reveals that over 100 persons have been feared dead following violent militia clashes in the Central African Republic in the last one week.

The UN is expressing “grave alarm” over the spread of fighting fueled by ethnic and religious rivalries.

According to a warning by a UN high commissioner for human rights, the violence in areas previously spared major bloodshed was “highly worrying”.

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“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.

Reports say among the dead 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.

 

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