AFRICAN UNION FORCE DECLARES WAR ON CAR ‘ANTI-BALAKA’ GROUPS
Bangui, 25 Jumadil Awwal 1435/ 26 March 2014 (MINA) – The African Union peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic (CAR) has declared war against the majority Christian vigilante groups.
The head of the African-led peacekeeping mission to the CAR blamed the anti-Balaka groups for attacks against the troops belonging to the African Union force.
“From now on, we consider the anti-Balaka as enemies of MISCA,” media outlets quoted Congolese General Jean Marie Michel as saying, adding, “And we will treat them as such.” Press TV reported as quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).
The peacekeepers have been fighting the anti-Balaka in the capital Bangui since Saturday, with at least 16 people being killed in the latest clashes there.
“They even fire on people who are here to try to end this crisis on behalf of the Central African people to which they belong. We hold them responsible for attacks that have targeted our troops in recent days,” the general added.
The AU mission is in the CAR to help end an ongoing violence which broke out between Muslims and Christians a year ago.
The United Nations Human Rights chief, Navi Pillay, has recently expressed horror at the level of the ongoing violence in the CAR.
The developments come as UN has described the displacement of the Muslims of the CAR as ethnic-religious cleansing.
The conflict in the CAR erupted after Christian militia launched coordinated attacks on the mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government last March.
Christian militiamen, however, have been targeting the Muslim population as a whole.
French and African peacekeepers are on the ground, but they have been unable to stop the violence and even in some occasions have been accused of killing Muslims.
France currently has around 2,000 troops in the CAR, while the African Union has three times that number.
So far, thousands of people are believed to have been killed and more than one million displaced. .”(T/P04/P03)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
