Tag: Seleka

The scars that don’t heal: Bangui pastor recalls church shelling

April 13, 2018 Central African Republic African Union, Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, PK5, Seleka, UPC

The rain that has fallen overnight has left a puddle in the church, and the pastor, Rev. Franco Mbaye-Bondoi, is worried that if the walls are not repaired before the heavy rains begin in two months, they may collapse. The dangerous cracks in the walls are the only signs left . . . Read More

Evangelical head sets out ambitious vision for rebuilding CAR

April 12, 2018 Central African Republic Bambari, Bangui, Catholics, Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, PK5, Protestants, Seleka, UN, Women, Youth

Churches in the Central African Republic have pledged to unite in prayer in response to the worsening violence dividing the country. The leader of the country’s evangelical church network says the effort has the potential to bring peace to the troubled nation. “Recent history of some countries in Africa, among . . . Read More

Five years on, Central African Republic crisis deepens

April 4, 2018 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bambari, Catherine Samba-Panza, Central African Republic, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Oumar Kobine Layama, Seleka, UN, UPC

A UN official has called for a new approach to end the still-deepening crisis in the Central African Republic. The situation in CAR has been deteriorating for five years now, and in the next six months may grow even worse, according to the head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination . . . Read More

Dozens killed in CAR, including priest who planned to move

March 28, 2018 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Antonio Guterres, Bambari, Bangassou, Bangui, Catholics, Central African Republic, Gambo, Seleka, UN, UPC

Dozens, including a Catholic priest, were killed last week as fighting erupted between armed groups in several villages in southern Central African Republic. Father Joseph Désiré Angbabata, 49, the parish priest of Séko village, near Bambari, lost his life when armed men stormed his village parish of Saint Charles LWANGA . . . Read More

Central African Republic: church elder among six aid workers hacked to death

March 8, 2018 Central African Republic Bangui, Central African Republic, PK5, Seleka, UN

A church elder who worked for UNICEF was one of six people killed during a recent ambush by armed men in northern Central African Republic. Gabriel Ole, 66, was an elder at a Baptist church (Eglise Baptiste Doumbia) in Bangui, the capital. He was among of a group of six . . . Read More

UN denies complicity in Central African Republic massacres, but questions remain

February 9, 2018 Central African Republic Alindao, Bangassou, Bangui, Basse-Kotto, Bocaranga, Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, Gambo, Kaga Bandoro, Paoua, Seleka, UN, UPC, Zemio

The UN has rejected allegations of complicity with armed groups in a string of massacres last year in the Central African Republic. A UN Special Investigation team, led by Brigadier General (rtd) Fernand Amoussou and including legal, political and human-rights experts, looked into attacks between 1 May and 31 August . . . Read More

Catholic priest stabbed as violence continues in Central African Republic

January 17, 2018 Central African Republic Bangassou, Bossangoa, Central African Republic, Paoua, Seleka, UN

Catholic bishops in the Central African Republic have condemned a recent upsurge of violence in the country and called on armed groups to lay down their weapons. Fighting between rival armed groups erupted in the north-western town of Paoua and its surroundings at the end of December, while in the . . . Read More

CAR’s religious leaders ‘must be empowered’ to restore peace

December 13, 2017 Central African Republic Central African Republic, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Seleka

Delegates at an international conference in Senegal called on the international community to do more to strengthen the role of religious leaders in peace and reconciliation in the Central African Republic. The conference, which was held in Dakar from 8-11 December, was organised by the International Dialogue Centre, the Network . . . Read More

CAR Christians and Muslims risk crossing ‘red line’ to establish peace

December 7, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Central African Republic, Religious freedom, Seleka, UN

At the market in Boda, a mining town in the southwest of the Central African Republic, Christians and Muslims come together to purchase goods set on wooden tables along the dusty roadside. It’s a picture of peaceful coexistence that would be unthinkable in some parts of a country that has . . . Read More

CAR: ‘They wanted to silence the preacher who converts Muslims to Christianity’

December 5, 2017 Central African Republic Anti-balaka, Bangui, Central African Republic, PK5, Seleka

The Central Mosque of Bangui in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhood of PK5. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Four years ago today, an eruption of violence in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, left dozens dead and shattered the lives of many others. An attempt by Anti-Balaka (“anti-machete”) vigilantes to oust rebel leader Michel Djotodia, who had swept across the country into the capital to proclaim . . . Read More

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