The Central African Republic has yet to fully emerge from a civil war fought partly along religious lines. Although the Islamist rebel group, Séléka, has been driven out of many parts of the country, attacks against Christians continue in the capital, Bangui, and in the mainly Muslim northeast. Christians have been forced to flee from their villages and are denied access to farming fields. Large groups of Christians live in extremely poor conditions in refugee camps.
Justice needed for CAR ‘war crimes’, says Human Rights Watch
Armed groups in the Central African Republic have killed civilians with “wholesale impunity, spurring more violence in the war-torn country”, Human Rights Watch said in a report released yesterday (5 July). The 92-page report, ‘Killing Without Consequence: War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and the Special Criminal Court in the Central […]
Central African Republic – the world’s most neglected conflict
In a report on 5 June, Human Rights Watch noted that “violence in the Central African Republic has fallen from the world’s radar, but that does not mean the killings have let up. Over a dozen armed groups now roam the country, committing a range of abuses. Violence is on […]
CAR’s clerics say ‘war must stop’ as killings continue despite peace agreement
More than 100 people were killed last week in the Central African Republic (CAR), only a day after a peace agreement was signed by 13 of the country’s 14 armed groups in Rome, brokered by the Catholic peace-building group Sant’Egidio. Rev Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, president of the Evangelical Alliance – one […]
Central African Republic foes sign Church-mediated peace accord
The government of the Central African Republic yesterday (19 June) signed an accord with 13 of the 14 armed groups in the country, aiming to end the ethic and religious conflict that has killed thousands of people. The deal, which was mediated by the Roman Catholic Sant’Egidio peace group and […]
Church leader among dead in Central African Republic
A church leader was among those killed in the recent outbreak of violence in the Central African Republic, it has emerged. Baptist pastor Ange-Apoléon Ngakolada, 36, leaves behind a wife and eight children. The President of the Association of Evangelical Baptist Churches in CAR, Singa Gbadia, told World Watch Monitor […]
UPDATE: CAR’s peace-making leader mourns loss of loved ones as 3,000 shelter inside church
UPDATE (18 May): As more details emerge, it has been confirmed that it was Rev. Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou’s youngest brother and nephew, not his son and grandson, who were killed in the latest eruption of violence in the Central African Republic. A local church leader told World Watch Monitor they may […]
CAR: ‘Simple survival rule in IDP camp: if you walk out, you might be killed’
Last month, April, saw the worst violence for years in the Central African Republic, said Medecins sans Frontieres. The UN, which has a 13,000 safe-keeping mission (MINUSCA) in the former French colony, has sought to disperse fighters, while the United States has imposed sanctions on CAR militia leaders. Despite the […]
CAR: Special Criminal Court prosecutor appointed as killing continues
The three top faith leaders of the Central African Republic (CAR), who’ve won international recognition for efforts to end conflict in their country, have welcomed the appointment of a prosecutor for a Special Criminal Court. CAR has been beset by religious and ethnic conflict between mainly Muslim Séléka rebels and […]
Pastor killed, 2 churches destroyed in renewed violence in Central African Republic
Hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs), shaken by the renewed violence, have returned to the refugee camp at Bangui M’Poko Airport, where they sought refuge when the violence first erupted in 2013. A flare-up of violence in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), on 7 February left […]
How women of the Central African Republic overcome trauma by trading
Women meeting at a self-help group, Bangui 2016.Open Doors The slogan painted on the rear bumper of a yellow taxi in Bangui caught our eye: “Le Saint-Esprit me conduit” (the Holy Spirit drives me). For a trip to this French-speaking part of Africa, it was an admirable sentiment that […]