BANGUI, Central African Republic — There has been a recent increase in the already ongoing humanitarian issue of sectarian violence in Central African Republic (CAR). This new wave of violence began in March 2013 when the guerrilla group Seleka entered the capital of Bangui and took over the city, overthrowing President Francois Bozize.
This type of event has become the norm CAR, as the country has been in a state of “permanent crisis” ever since their independence from France in 1960. Thibaud Lesueur, an expert on the situation, says, “It is actually a country that is not governed.” Even the government deposed by the Seleka was not improving the development of the impoverished nation.
Since the coup, Seleka has done little to restore order. There are few laws, low levels of economic stability, little to no institutional structure and almost no personal safety for the average person.
Since March 2013, the rebellion split as certain groups tried to consolidate power. This has caused sectarian violence between these groups to increase. The Muslim Seleka rebels, the Christians and animist anti-balaka militias continue to fight in and around the town of Bambari.
Instead of rebels fighting rebels, each group specifically targets civilian populations of the opposite faith. Although Christians have suffered losses, it is the small Muslim population which has been most devastated. This past January, the UN’s Chief Special Adviser on genocide prevention stated that CAR has a “high risk of crimes against humanity and of genocide.”
June and July have seen a spike in violence after a brief period of inactivity. Many civilians have been displaced by the conflict, which makes them vulnerable, easy targets for the rebels. Some have taken refuge in churches.
One of the most recent incidents occurred earlier this month when St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bambari was attacked by Muslim Seleka rebels. The attack left 27 people dead and 10 wounded. It is believed to be in response to a “grenade attack three days earlier on a mosque in Paoua that left 34 people wounded.”
The recent increase in violence began in May due to anti-balaka forces killing members of a Peuhl nomadic community and has since turned into an endemic “cycle of revenge killings.” Innocent civilians are always the targets of this retaliation.
The problem with this increase in violence is that is seems to be advancing onward from Bambari and moving east. The African director for Human Rights Watch Daniel Bekele said that the violence is “moving eastward, engulfing new communities. The limited numbers of French and African Union peacekeepers deployed in Bambari are unable to adequately protect civilians and end the killings.”
If the conflict moves further east, it will continue to destabilize the county. The judicial system and government are already completely ill-equipped to handle the situation. Further escalation will make ending the crisis all the more difficult.
The African Union is working with French peacekeepers to try and manage refugee safety. They have been somewhat successful at decreasing the amount of deaths but they surely need more support on the ground as well as more international pressure to bring stability to the country. This increase in violence is moving the country deeper into a serious humanitarian crisis.
– Eleni Lentz-Marino
Sources: The New York Times, Al Jazeera, KMIR News, Human Rights Watch, Boston Globe
Photo: International Business Times