Militia fighters in the Central African Republic have killed at least 20 people and wounded several more in attacks in the centre of the country, a police source said Sunday.
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Villagers in Ndomété, about 350 kilometers from the town of Kaga-Bandoro, were attacked by armed men from the former rebel coalition Seleka, according to presidential spokesperson Albert Mokpeme.
The UN the clashes took place in a village about 350km (220 miles) north of the capital, Bangui. The Seleka (rebels) went door to door … “It was a massacre”.
Fighting between Seleka, officially disbanded in 2013, and Christian “anti-Balaka” militias has increased in the past year, but government and United Nations officials said Friday’s attack targeted civilians.
Seleka representatives were not available for comment.
In 2014, some 11,000 peacekeepers were deployed by the United Nations (UN) to the country as part of the established United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
A spokesman for the presidency confirmed the death toll, according to BBC, and claimed Seleka members went from door to door and killed their victims.
In a statement, MONUSCO said it had sent troop reinforcements to Kaga Bandoro and the village of Ndomete, which was particularly affected by the violence, “to prevent any deterioration of the situation”. Eventually, it became a religious conflict after the Christian anti-Balaka rebels launched a reprisal attack in June 2013.
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The country has been plagued since 2013 by inter-communal and inter-religious clashes, which have persisted since President Faustin-Archange Touadera was sworn in in March after an election widely portrayed as a step towards reconciliation. However, rebels and militia fighters still stalk much of the country outside the capital.
