Militia attack Muslims in Central African Republic’s capital
Heavy arms fire and gunshots rang out across the capital of the Central African Republic on Friday as Christian militia forces attacked Muslim neighborhoods, sending residents fleeing.
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- Burundian soldiers stand at attention during a ceremony in Bangui on December 19, 2013 marking the transfer of authority of the FOMAC to the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), mandated by the United Nations. (Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., visits a camp Thursday just outside the airport of the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui. More than 20,000 people have come to the camp to flee violence in other parts of the country. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)
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- Troops from Burundi, transported by two C-17 aircraft provided by the U.S. military, arrive Thursday in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, which has been wracked by strife recently between Muslims and Christians. Burundi’s soldiers are part of an African Union force planned to reach 6,000 in the Central African Republic. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)
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- Burundian peacekeepers from the International Mission for Support for Central African Republic (MISCA) patrol the capital’s streets in Bangui December 20, 2013. Heavy arms fire and gunshots rang out across the capital of the Central African Republic on Friday as Christian militia forces attacked Muslim neighbourhoods, sending residents fleeing. (REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu)
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- A French soldier observes from atop an armoured personnel carrier (APC) in Central African Republic’s capital Bangui December 20, 2013. Heavy arms fire and gunshots rang out across the capital of the Central African Republic on Friday as Christian militia forces attacked Muslim neighbourhoods, sending residents fleeing. (REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu)
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- French soldiers run a check on a civilian along a street in Central African Republic’s capital Bangui December 20, 2013. Heavy arms fire and gunshots rang out across the capital of the Central African Republic on Friday as Christian militia forces attacked Muslim neighbourhoods, sending residents fleeing. (REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu)
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- A Muslim family asks French soldiers to evacuate them to a safer area, along a street in Central African Republic’s capital Bangui, December 20, 2013. Heavy arms fire and gunshots rang out across the capital of the Central African Republic on Friday as Christian militia forces attacked Muslim neighbourhoods, sending residents fleeing. (REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu)
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- A woman cries as she walks along a street to move to a safer area in Central African Republic’s capital Bangui December 20, 2013. Heavy arms fire and gunshots rang out across the capital of the Central African Republic on Friday as Christian militia forces attacked Muslim neighbourhoods, sending residents fleeing. (REUTERS/Andreea Campeanu)
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- A woman cries after her father was killed during clashes between former Seleka rebels and anti-Balaka militiamen in Bangui on December 20, 2013. The Central African Republic has spiralled into chaos since a March coup by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group overthrew president Francois Bozize, with deadly violence pitting Muslims against Christians. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A man wounded during clashes between former Seleka rebels and anti-Balaka militiamen sits on the floor of a hospital in Bangui on December 20, 2013. The Central African Republic has spiralled into chaos since a March coup by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group overthrew president Francois Bozize, with deadly violence pitting Muslims against Christians. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A man wounded during clashes between former Seleka rebels and anti-Balaka militiamen lies with a bandage wrapped around his head on a bench at a hospital in Bangui on December 20, 2013. The Central African Republic has spiralled into chaos since a March coup by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group overthrew president Francois Bozize, with deadly violence pitting Muslims against Christians. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- French soldiers stand at attention during a ceremony in Bangui on December 19, 2013 marking the transfer of authority of the Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) to the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), mandated by the United Nations. (Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Former Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) soldiers put on the new African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) green berets during a ceremony in Bangui on December 19, 2013 marking the transfer of authority of the FOMAC to the MISCA, mandated by the United Nations. (Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Burundian soldiers stand at attention during a ceremony in Bangui on December 19, 2013 marking the transfer of authority of the FOMAC to the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), mandated by the United Nations. (Ivan Leiman/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A picture shows the camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Bossangoa on December18, 2013. The Central African Republic’s interim president and prime minister were to hold talks on December 18 in a bid to end a political rift, as several European countries offered to help quell deadly sectarian violence in the country. Around 600 people have been killed in less than two weeks, according to the United Nations, while some 210,000 people have been forced from their homes in the capital alone. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- The General Secretary of the CEEAC (The Economic Community of Central African States) Ahmad Allam-Mi walks past former Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) troops during a ceremony in Bangui on December 19, 2013 marking the transfer of authority of the FOMAC to the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), mandated by the United Nations. (Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Central African Prime Minister Nicholas Tiangaye walks past French soldiers during a ceremony in Bangui on December 19, 2013 marking the transfer of authority of the Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) to the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA), mandated by the United Nations. (Ivan Lieman/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A French army soldier taking part in the Sangaris military operation in Central Africa checks his machine gun as he flies with a helicopter above Bossangoa on December 19, 2013. The Central African Republic’s mostly Muslim ex-rebels killed nearly 1,000 people in the capital Bangui two weeks ago in a rampage avenging deadly Christian militia attacks, Amnesty International said in a report today. The death toll was significantly higher than earlier estimates by the United Nations, which spoke of 450 killed in Bangui and another 150 elsewhere in the country. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A family waits in the Muslim refugee camp in Bossangoa on December 19, 2013. The United States today announced $15 million in additional humanitarian aid for the Central African Republic, as a top US envoy was visiting Bangui to press for an end to sectarian bloodshed. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- People gather in the Christian refugee camp in Bossangoa, Central African Republic, on December 18, 2013. The Christian camp is on one side, the Muslim camp on another, separated by a red dirt road littered with abandoned homes, a no man’s land swirling with bitterness, rumours and accusations. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A French soldier stands post on an armored vehicle during a night patrol part of operation Sangaris in Bossangoa on December 18, 2013. The Central African Republic’s interim president and prime minister held talks on December 18 in a bid to end a political rift, as several European countries offered to help quell deadly sectarian violence in the country. Around 600 people have been killed in less than two weeks, according to the United Nations, while some 210,000 people have been forced from their homes in the capital alone. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Children stand behind the fence of the French military base camp in Bossangoa on December 18, 2013. The Central African Republic’s interim president and prime minister were to hold talks on December 18 in a bid to end a political rift, as several European countries offered to help quell deadly sectarian violence in the country. Around 600 people have been killed in less than two weeks, according to the United Nations, while some 210,000 people have been forced from their homes in the capital alone. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Patients wait in their room in the hospital in Bossangoa on December18, 2013. Wrenched apart by sectarian violence, the Central African Republic town of Bossangoa has become little more than a ghost town. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Patients wait in their room in the hospital in Bossangoa on December 18, 2013. Wrenched apart by sectarian violence, the Central African Republic town of Bossangoa has become little more than a ghost town. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- Patients wait in their room in the hospital in Bossangoa on December 18, 2013. Wrenched apart by sectarian violence, the Central African Republic town of Bossangoa has become little more than a ghost town. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A girl stands near a woman cooking in the Christian camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Bossangoa on December 18, 2013. The Central African Republic’s interim president and prime minister were to hold talks on December 18 in a bid to end a political rift, as several European countries offered to help quell deadly sectarian violence in the country. Around 600 people have been killed in less than two weeks, according to the United Nations, while some 210,000 people have been forced from their homes in the capital alone. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A child helps her brother to drink in her room in the hospital in Bossangoa on December18, 2013. Wrenched apart by sectarian violence, the Central African Republic town of Bossangoa has become little more than a ghost town. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
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- A woman walks in the Christian camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Bossangoa on December 18, 2013. The Central African Republic’s interim president and prime minister were to hold talks on December 18 in a bid to end a political rift, as several European countries offered to help quell deadly sectarian violence in the country. Around 600 people have been killed in less than two weeks, according to the United Nations, while some 210,000 people have been forced from their homes in the capital alone. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
(Reuters) – A spokesman for the 3,700-strong African Union peacekeeping force, MISCA, said the “anti-balaka” fighters had attacked the PK 5 and Fatima neighborhoods, home to the city’s minority Muslim population.
An attack on Bangui by Christian militias in early December sparked a wave of bloody reprisals by the Muslim Seleka fighters who seized power in March. Hundreds of people were killed in the violence, prompting France to send peacekeeping troops to its former colony.
Guy-Simplice Kodegue, a spokesman for the interim government, said the Christian militia forces had tried to reach the center of the riverside capital.
All economic and social activity had stopped as panicked residents fled, he told Reuters.
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