75 dead in Central African Republic town: Priest

Clashes between Muslim and Christian residents have left at least 75 people dead in a single town, a local priest said on Monday.

Bangui: Clashes between Muslim and Christian residents have left at least 75 people dead in a single town, a local priest said on Monday, pleading for help to stop the massacres taking place in the countryside as Central African Republic teeters on the brink of anarchy.

French forces in the capital, meanwhile, struggled to stop mobs of looters from stealing what remained of Muslim homes and businesses. French and African peacekeepers fired warning shots in a bid to stop them.

Father Cassien Kamatari told The Associated Press today that fighting had erupted five days ago in the town of Boda, about 100 kilometres outside Bangui. Muslim victims were buried soon after the attacks so it was not known how many of them also were killed in addition to the toll given by the priest.
"Instead of thinking only of Bangui, people must also think of what`s happening in the countryside because what we are living through in these communities is horrific," he said.

An untold number of people have been slain across Central African Republic since March 2013 when heavily armed rebels overthrew the president of a decade. By July, the armed, Muslim fighters also were being blamed for carrying out massacres on predominantly Christian villages in the country`s remote northwest.

An armed Christian movement known as the anti-Balaka arose in opposition to the Muslim rebels and its fighters are also accused of carrying out scores of human rights abuses. The anti-Balaka, backed by forces loyal to the ousted president, launched an attempted coup in December, unleashing bloodshed that left more than 1,000 dead in a matter of days in Bangui.
Retaliatory violence against Muslim civilians has forced tens of thousands to flee for their lives. Angry mobs in the capital have torched mosques and used machetes to hack Muslims to death in the streets, then mutilated their bodies in a final act of rage.

Today, there was renewed concern for hundreds of Muslims in the northwest community of Yaloke, said Joanne Mariner, Amnesty International`s senior crisis adviser in Bangui. Local Christian militiamen yesterday issued an ultimatum that all Muslims were to leave the town within 24 hours, she said.

"Some 2,000 people tried to squeeze on to about 10 trucks," she said, noting that one overturned because it was so heavy. "Everyone was running for their lives it was a panic zone."

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