Tag: African Union

Pressure on Christians grew in 2013

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More than ever, some of the hardest places for Christians to live are fragile or failed states where militant Islamist movements flourish, according to an annual report on Christian religious freedom. Pressure on Christians intensified worldwide in 2013, according to Open Doors International, a charity that provides support to Christians . . . Read More

Central African Republic Christians petition for President’s removal

December 24, 2013 Central African Republic African Union, Anti-balaka, Bangui, Michel Djotodia, Seleka

Michel Djotodia, President of the Central African Republic.Crispin for World Watch Monitor One person has been killed and around 40 wounded after African Union (AU) troops reportedly fired at a group of Christian protestors in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). The Christians had gathered near the . . . Read More

CAR: Djotodia to speak to militias

December 16, 2013 Central African Republic African Union, Central African Republic, Michel Djotodia

Central African Republic President Michel Djotodia has offered to speak to the leaders of so-called “Christian” militias, reports the BBC, in attempt to deal with the worsening sectarian conflict. Speaking to French RFI radio, he said he was ready to “extend his hand”. A former rebel leader, Djotodia became the . . . Read More

UN endorses more military in Central African Republic

December 5, 2013 Central African Republic African Union, Bossangoa, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Oumar Kobine Layama, Seleka, UN

The United Nations Security Council has authorised the expansion of an African military force inside the Central African Republic to counter a rising spiral of sectarian violence. Against a backdrop of fresh deadly violence in the CAR capital of Bangui, Thursday’s unanimous vote of the 15-member council provides a mandate to the . . . Read More

UN consensus builds to send force to Central African Republic

November 26, 2013 Central African Republic African Union, Seleka, UN

Consensus is emerging to begin “contingency planning” to send a UN peacekeeping force to the lawless Central African Republic, the UN’s No. 2 official said on Monday. Until a UN force, estimated at 6,000 soldiers and 1,700 police, can be deployed, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Liasson urged the UN Security Council . . . Read More

Kony urged to surrender in CAR

November 21, 2013 Central African Republic African Union, Central African Republic, International Criminal Court, UN

The President of the Central African Republic (CAR) has been in contact with warlord Joseph Kony, head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), urging him to surrender, reports Reuters. However, the African Union’s (AU) special envoy on the LRA told the UN that Kony has “used the negotiations as a . . . Read More

Ban Ki-moon warns Central African Republic ‘spiralling into anarchy’

November 20, 2013 Central African Republic African Union, Michel Djotodia, Seleka, UN

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, pictured in 2012.Africa Renewal / Flickr / Creative Commons The UN Secretary General Ban-Ki moon said on Monday (Nov. 18) that anarchy in the Central African Republic risks spiralling further out of control, and could need up to 9,000 peacekeepers. In a . . . Read More

Disputed area of Abyei votes to join South Sudan

November 4, 2013 Sudan Abyei, African Union, Blue Nile, Darfur, Dinka, Kadugli, Khartoum, South Kordofan, South Sudan

Agok town in the disputed Abyei area.ENOUGH Project / Flickr / Creative Commons Sudan, already facing regional insurgencies and austerity riots, is on the brink of more violence along its border with South Sudan. Human rights groups say that the fate of Abyei, an area half the size of . . . Read More

Bashir trip to Nigeria sparks protest

July 17, 2013 African Union, Genocide, Goodluck Jonathan, Human rights, International Criminal Court, Nigeria, Omar al-Bashir, Sudan

Human rights groups are blasting Nigeria for hosting Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir at an African Union health summit, and have demanded his arrest on genocide charges from the International Criminal Court. However, a spokesman for Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan says “Nigeria is not in a position to determine who attends . . . Read More

C. African Republic religious leaders consider plan for country otherwise ‘likely to explode’

June 21, 2013 Central African Republic African Union, Bria, Michel Djotodia, Oumar Kobine Layama, Seleka

The aftermath of a Séléka attack in Dekoa village.CECA As a significant risk of interfaith conflict looms over the Central African Republic (CAR), the leaders of the two main religions in the country – Christianity and Islam – have decided to speak with one voice. The CAR was plunged . . . Read More

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