CAR: Dozens of civilians killed in violence – HRW

Armed groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) have killed at least 45 civilians in apparent reprisal strikes over the past three months, a human-rights watchdog says in a new report.  The violence pitted armed groups against one another in the central province of Ouaka, which is on the border of the mainly Muslim north […]

Armed groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) have killed at least 45 civilians in apparent reprisal strikes over the past three months, a human-rights watchdog says in a new report. 

The violence pitted armed groups against one another in the central province of Ouaka, which is on the border of the mainly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south of the country.

“As factions vie for power in the Central African Republic, civilians on all sides are exposed to their deadly attacks,” Lewis Mudge, Africa researcher at the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said on Tuesday.

CAR has seen violence since 2013, when a mainly Muslim rebel coalition called the Seleka toppled President Francois Bozize and went on looting and killing raids, prompting Christians to form self-defence militias.