CAR sliding toward civil war following clashes: UN expert
The UN independent expert on the human rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) warns that the landlocked country could face "civil war" unless the latest wave of violence there is brought under control.
"I fear that if this violence is not rapidly contained, targeted attacks based on ethnicity and religion inevitably risk increasing and leading to a real civil war," Marie-Therese Keita Bocoum told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in the Swiss city of Geneva on Wednesday.
The remarks came just days after fierce sectarian clashes between the country’s Christian and Muslim populations, which left almost 40 people dead and prompted some 30,000 people to flee their homes. The conflict broke out on Saturday following the murder of a Muslim motor-taxi driver in the capital city of Bangui.
Elsewhere in her remarks, the UN expert also emphasized that “disarming armed groups must be an absolute priority" ahead of presidential and general elections in the African state due by the end of the year.
She further called on the Central African Republic’s government to "present a realistic and concrete plan" aimed at resolving the ongoing violence gripping the country.
The CAR plunged into crisis in December 2013, when Christian anti-balaka militia began coordinated attacks against the country’s mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government of President Francois Bozize in March that year.
France also invaded its former colony in December 2013 after the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution giving the African Union and France the go-ahead to send troops to the country.
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