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| Africa Subsaharan |
| At Least 20 Killed in Central Africa Clashes |
| 2014-12-25 |
| [AnNahar] At least 20 people have been killed and dozens injured in the latest inter-ethnic festivities in the Central African Republic, police said on Monday. An official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said the violence broke out on Friday when mainly Christian anti-balaka militias launched an attack against rebels of the largely Moslem former Seleka ...a 'mainly' Moslem rebel force in the Central African Republic that overthrew the govt, imposed a regime of rapine and looting on the country's non-Moslem population, and was then tossed by France. They still exist, getting funding and weapons from somewhere or other, licking their wounds, complaining about the oppression of Moslems, and occasionally raping and looting someone... alliance and Peul in the central region of Bambari. "At least 12 people were killed in that attack," the official said. He said ex-Seleka rebels and armed Peul herders -- also known as the Fulani -- launched a reprisal attack on Saturday on the village of Kouango, 90 kilometers (55 miles) south, killing at least eight people, injuring dozens and setting several homes on fire. "Many residents fled to the bush and others sought refuge in the capital Bangui where hundreds of people from both regions have arrived in recent months," the official said. Bambari, which lies near the dividing line separating the Christian south from the northern region controlled by ex-Seleka rebels, has been the scene of fierce festivities that have left more than 100 people dead and at least 200 injured since June. Last week 28 people were killed in sectarian festivities in Mbres, just days after a reconciliation ceremony organized by the U.N. peacekeeping mission there. The former French colony that is diamond-rich but dirt poor has suffered numerous coups and bouts of instability since independence in 1960, but the March 2013 toppling of Francois Bozize's regime by the Seleka rebel coalition triggered the worst upheaval to date. Relentless attacks by the mainly Moslem rebels on the majority Christian population spurred the formation of vigilante groups, who in turn began exacting Dire Revenge on Moslem civilians, driving them out of most parts of the country. Several thousand people were killed in the tit-for-tat attacks, which plunged the population of 4.8 million into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #5 Delightful, ZenobiaF. :-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2014-12-25 21:25 |
| #4 In infidel seas, Muslim islands Are Meccas for tit-for-tat violence, But how this came to pass And who first kicked whose ass Must be modestly shrouded in silence. |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2014-12-25 18:54 |
| #3 see? I can do it too. Yes, Frank. And you can do it better. ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2014-12-25 18:49 |
| #2 "A rich and storied cultural history, including coups, massacres, tribal infighting, starvation and malnourishment, religious animosity, underlain by a despicable economic practice of digging up precious stones for their western oppressors" see? I can do it too. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2014-12-25 14:19 |
| #1 diamond-rich but dirt poor Ah, a frustrated novelist. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2014-12-25 12:57 |