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Africa Subsaharan

Hundreds of Vigilantes Attack Town in Central African Republic

2013-10-27

[An Nahar] Hundreds of vigilantes armed with machetes and firearms attacked the town of Bouar in western Central African Republic on Saturday, forcing civilians to flee the area, a military source and residents said.

Self-defense groups called "Anti-balakas, equipped with weapons of war and machetes surrounded the town early this morning and shots from light and heavy firearms could be heard in several areas of Bouar," the military source said.

"We do not know what is happening in the different neighborhoods right now," said the source, adding that "the local authorities have left the town".

Awalou Mamadou, a local shopkeeper in Bouar, which is located some 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of the capital Bangui, estimated the number of attackers at between 300 and 500 men.

Maxime Lalai, a local civilian who spoke to Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone, said "the attackers have surrounded the town, we are trapped, we don't know which direction to flee to."

Ali Camara, who works for the international NGO Cordaid, said he went to take refuge in a church, "but it is full there... I went back to my home where I stayed on the floor with my family."

The anti-balaka ("anti-machete" in the local Sango language) groups were formed by local residents exasperated by the abuses committed by members of the former rebel Seleka group.

The now disbanded Seleka toppled Francois Bozize in March, plunging the country into chaos, and its leader Michel Djotodia was formally installed as interim president in August to lead an 18-month transition.

Cases of executions, rape and looting by ex-Seleka fighters in the aftermath of the coup have stoked sectarian tension in the former French colony, where the population is 80 percent Christian.

Bouar has some 40,000 inhabitants and is located on the strategic axis connecting landlocked Central African Republic with Cameroon, where its main imports come through.

Posted by:Fred

#4 who is funding?
Essentially, the world's oil consumers, via the Persian Gulf Islamic theocracies, primarily KSA.

Posted by: Glenmore 2013-10-27 08:52

#3 What I'd like to know is who is funding, arming, training and feeding the Muslim minority that is now lording it over the country's 80% Christian population.

Posted by: Zhang Fei 2013-10-27 08:40

#2 The vigilantes are Christian. Some background:

Bossangoa - Framing the deserted streets, the burned roofs of Bossangoa's destroyed neighbourhoods are a stark reminder of the violence that has recently unfolded in this Central African town.

Bossangoa's residents have fled in three directions: Christians have occupied the Catholic church, Muslims a local school, and the Fula people, a distinct Muslim group, have taken over an airfield.

It is the latest sign of a worrying new turn in the increasingly sectarian conflict between the area's Christian majority and fighters from the former Seleka rebel alliance who are largely drawn from the country's Muslim minority.

All around Bossangoa, Christian vigilante groups are springing up, bent on defending their villages from further atrocities.

Armed with home-made guns, machetes, or simply holding clubs, these villagers proclaim themselves "ready to die" to defend their land from the relentless attacks by the fighters.

"Our women and girls were raped," a villager told AFP on condition of anonymity. "They took everything, even our grain, and we no longer have anything to eat. Our children have no drinking water, and we live in the bush like animals," he said, in a voice shaking with fear and anger.

Posted by: Zhang Fei 2013-10-27 08:38

#1 This is not news, it's.... like football, a national sport.

Posted by: Besoeker 2013-10-27 05:39

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