The Central African Republic has yet to fully emerge from a civil war fought partly along religious lines. Although the Islamist rebel group, Séléka, has been driven out of many parts of the country, attacks against Christians continue in the capital, Bangui, and in the mainly Muslim northeast. Christians have been forced to flee from their villages and are denied access to farming fields. Large groups of Christians live in extremely poor conditions in refugee camps.
Evangelical head sets out ambitious vision for rebuilding CAR
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 […]
Five years on, Central African Republic crisis deepens
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 […]
Dozens killed in CAR, including priest who planned to move
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 […]
Central African Republic: church elder among six aid workers hacked to death
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 […]
UN denies complicity in Central African Republic massacres, but questions remain
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 […]
Catholic priest stabbed as violence continues in Central African Republic
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 […]
CAR’s religious leaders ‘must be empowered’ to restore peace
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 […]
CAR Christians and Muslims risk crossing ‘red line’ to establish peace
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 […]
CAR: ‘They wanted to silence the preacher who converts Muslims to Christianity’
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 […]
CAR: 7 dead after attack on peace concert in Bangui
Four people were killed and 20 injured after a grenade attack at a peace concert in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, on Saturday (11 November). The event, which was held at a bar in the restive, mostly Muslim PK5 neighbourhood, had been organised by young Christians and […]