Central African Republic: A new wave of violence

USPA NEWS - According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) it would be necessary to disarm the militias in the Central African Republic to put an end to the violence against the civilian population and to ensure better humanitarian aid for the needy.

“The ongoing conflict and the new attacks are impeding humanitarian relief. Often, aid workers are forced to leave a certain region due to security concerns,“ said Ulrich Delius, the STP´s Africa-expert, in Göttingen on Tuesday. There have been more than 3,000 attacks on non-governmental organizations in the Central African Republic since January 2016. According to information from the United Nations, about half of the country´s 4.5 million inhabitants are dependent on international aid supplies to survive ““ and one in two children are suffering from malnutrition. According to the STP, more than 150 civilians have lost their lives in militia attacks since mid-October 2016.

For example, at least 85 people got killed in Bria last week, and 76 people were injured when militiamen of the Popular Front for the Renaissance of the Central African Republic (FPRC) tried to hunt down members of the ethnic group of the Fulani. The FPRC accuses the Fulani of supporting the rival militia of the Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC). More than 11,000 of the city´s 43,000 inhabitants tried to escape from the violence. The two militias, which can both be seen as part of the Muslim Seleka militias, had already been involved in bloody clashes in the city of Bambari.

Further, militia groups recently attacked several Christian churches ““ for example a Catholic church and two Baptist churches in the village Kabo last weekend. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has so far refused to disarm the militias. He seems to be relying solely on the persuasive power of money, hoping to be able to use the 2.06 billion Euros from different donor countries to make the conflict parties to lay down their arms. “Both the government and MINUSCA must now focus on disarming the militia groups ““ otherwise it will not be possible to rebuild the country,“ said Delius.

The situation in the Central African Republic doesn´t seem to be calming down. After the first civil war from 2004 to 2007, new clashes broke out again at the end of the year. Since then, most of the members of the Muslim minority have been expelled from the country. Despite the 12,000 blue helmets and the UN peace mission MINUSCA, there is no lasting peace in the state, which is twice as large as Germany.

Contact: Ulrich Delius, head of STP's Africa department
E-Mail: afrika@gfbv.de, presse@gfbv.de

Contact: Martin Bitschnau, Head of the Scientific Department
E-Mail: presse@u-mum.international

Contact: Dr. hc Simone Mayer, CEO and press officer
E-Mail: vorstand@u-mum.international