A militia group has killed 27 Muslims in a village in the Central African Republic, the United Nations said yesterday, in an attack underscoring the difficulties faced by French troops in stabilising their former colony.
The Christian militia, known as anti-Balaka, killed the Muslims on Thursday in Bohong, a village about 75 kilometres from the far western town of Bouar, the UN Human Rights office said. “The situation is also tense in several towns, including Bouca, Bossangoa and Bozoum, where a vicious cycle of attacks and reprisals continues,” it said in an e-mail.
Mostly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in March, ousting President Francois Bozize. They conducted a string of abuses, prompting the creation of Christian defence groups, which in turn deepened inter-religious conflict.
Christian militia and gunmen loyal to Bozize attacked the capital last week, triggering fresh killings and reprisals. More than 500 people died and 100,000 were displaced from their homes in the capital Bangui alone.
French troops, who now number 1,600 in the country, have restored some order to Bangui and begun disarming gunmen as well as moving out to other towns. But the killings in Bohong point to the scale of the task in a country the size of France.
“We condemn any attack on places of worship and on religious freedom, and urge all communities to exercise restraint,” the UN Human Rights office said in a briefing note.
The African country is rich in diamonds, gold and uranium but has seen little stability in five decades. France has intervened more since independence in 1960 than in any of its former colonies. Several people died in clashes in the Miskine neighbourhood of northwest Bangui on Thursday night and yesterday morning, according to witnesses, a sign that the capital itself remains unstable.
The fighting started when ethnic Christians on Thursday looted the motor-bike shop of a man linked to the Seleka and escalated into reprisal killings. French troops, backed by a helicopter, restored calm yesterday, they said.
“The tension is still high in the neighbourhood despite the presence of the French,” said Chancella Cazalima, a student.