FIVE AFRICAN PEACEKEEPERS KILLED IN BANGUI AMBUSH
Bangui, 23 Safar 1435/26 December 2013 (MINA) – Five African Union peacekeepers were killed on Wednesday (25/12) when alleged Christian militiamen ambushed them some 10kms from Bangui, the troubled capital of the Central African Republic (CAR).
“I have seen dead bodies of five of our troops who were killed after falling into an ambush,” a highly-placed military source working for the African peacekeeping force, MISCA, told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
He said they were ambushed by the self-styled Christian militia known locally as the anti-balaka.
The source declined to identify the nationalities of the slain soldiers but gave their ranks as one Captain, one lieutenant and three low-ranking officers.
“I can confirm to you that the dead bodies have been taken to the Community Hospital in Bangui,” he asserted.
“I am back to the barracks. The situation is tense; our forces are still hunting for the militants.”
Several calls to the phone of MISCA spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ndong Toutoune went unanswered.
A nurse working at the Community Hospital in Bangui confirmed seeing three dead bodies of Chadian peacekeepers.
“At 4pm we received 3 dead bodies of Chadian troops,” she told AA on the phone, requesting anonymity for not being authorized to talk to the media.
Earlier this evening, there was a huge bomb blast next to the Ledger hotel in Bangui, where several people remain trapped, including an AA reporter.
According to AA reporter as quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA), vehicles are not moving on the roads and the situation remains tense.
Four people were killed today when suspected ex-seleka militants opened fire on worshippers attending Christmas mass at St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church some 12km from Bangui.
CAR, a landlocked, mineral-rich country, descended into anarchy in March after rebels from a group known as “Seleka” overthrew Francois Bozize, a Christian who had come to power in a 2003 coup.
The country has since been plagued by tit-for-tat sectarian violence between ex-seleka fighters and the anti-balaka that has claimed hundreds of lives over the past two weeks.
On Friday, at least 29 Muslim residents were killed when anti-balaka militiamen attacked Kilometer 5, a predominantly Muslim Bangui neighborhood.
President Michel Djotodia has accused Bozize of funding the self-styled Christian militia. (T/P09/P03/E1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
