World Watch Monitor, September 17, 2018
In Central African Republic, dozens of people are feared killed after suspected Islamist rebels attacked a group of civilians in the central town of Bria earlier this month.
Local sources contacted by World Watch Monitor said as many as 42 were killed, as details about the attacks are now emerging.
Sources said the victims were mainly women who were hacked to death while returning from farms to the predominantly Christian quarter of the town, to sell their farm products.
Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, the town of Bria witnessed a wave of violence at the end of August. The Christian populations of the town said they had been particularly targeted.
“The Seleka militants don’t want to see any Christians here,” one church leader said. “We Christians have nothing else to do, no food to eat, no place to go. We rely only on prayers. It is a very difficult situation for us here. We pray for God’s help for us,” another church leader in the camp said.
Central African Republic has witnessed an upsurge of violence in recent months, notably with attacks targeting churches and clerics in Bangui, the capital.