Bangui, CAR
December 25th, 2013
Fire of undetermined origin caused panic Wednesday, December 25 in Bangui, in the northern districts and near the airport , held firmly by French soldiers in a city abandoned to chaos and widespread insecurity are fears of further massacres .
These shots have gradually ceased with nightfall . To 19 hours , an uneasy calm prevailed in the city plunged into darkness , where telephone communications were increasingly difficult .
After many incidents and intermittent gunfire during the morning in several districts of the capital , shooting focused and intensified As the day progresses towards the city center to the south.
To 15 hours , they approached the immediate vicinity of the airport, where French soldiers are based Sangaris of operation and the various contingents of the African Standby Force ( Misca ) . The shooting apparently not sought the airport, but it was very difficult in the general confusion , to identify the source and authors.
From the airport , hundreds of panicked residents fled neighboring districts on foot. Current between the houses and trying to stay covered, some were heading south towards the city center . Many of them came to find refuge in an indescribable rush along the runways of the airport, where tens of thousands of displaced people who fled the violence of the past three weeks already living in poverty .
The French army deployed a dozen armored
A dozen French armored vehicles are deployed at the entrance to the airport, already secured by the French soldiers who were now fighting position behind their sandbags.
The events of the day are very confused. The identity of the belligerents remain unknown for the moment : militia "anti- Balaka " ( Christians ) fighters, the former rebellion Seleka . The use of heavy machine guns, and the presence in the combat zones and 4x4 armored Chadian contingent Misca suggest that these Chadian soldiers were involved.
No report was available. A resident of PK5 , a mixed neighborhood predominantly Muslim on the road from the city center , has reported several people killed by "anti- Balaka " infiltrated the area . The bodies of the victims, he did not say how many were gathered in a local mosque .
A thousand people killed since December 5
The streets quickly emptied , people were cloistered at home with family . In the most exposed sectors , families terrorized crouched under tables, took refuge under the bed for fear of stray bullets , constantly on the phone calling their loved ones .
" The Seleka ( former rebels in power) kill us , they entered the neighborhood, they draw on the people ," said one of these people. Other evoked instead a Christian militia attack self-defense "anti- Balaka " .
A thousand people have been killed since Dec. 5 in Bangui and in the provinces, in the attacks of Christian vigilante "anti- Balaka " (anti- machete in Sango ) and in retaliation against the population Seleka .
Violence rising inexorably over days
In the capital, after a short respite , the violence resumed late last week , rising inexorably power over days . The French system (1,600 men , a thousand deployed in Bangui ) and 4,000 men of the Misca were clearly not sufficient to extinguish the fire that continued to smolder in a city still stifled by religious hatred, where Christians - victims for months abuses of Seleka - thirst for vengeance against the former rebels and Muslim civilians who now associated with them .
Implicated in several recent incidents , and Bangui accused by many of complicity with the former Seleka the Chadian contingent Misca will soon leave Bangui and be redeployed in the north of the country with a Muslim majority .
"All the Chadian contingent will be sent to secure the north in the coming days " , said a spokesman for the Misca , Lieutenant Colonel Ndong Toutoune . The spokesman gave no details on the terms or the exact location of this redeployment .
A growing resentment towards Bangui Chadian soldiers
The announcement comes two days after firing fratricide even within the African force between Chadian and Burundian soldiers . On Tuesday, the head of the Burundian contingent revealed that his men had been the day before the target of an attack by Chadian soldiers with automatic weapons fire and throw grenades. The attack was repulsed and wounded three Chadian soldiers , according to the officer .
That same morning , a Chadian patrol had briefly opened fire - in the eye of journalists - on anti- Seleka protesters outside the airport , killing one .
These repeated incidents have led to a growing resentment among many Bangui , and undermined the credibility of the military N'Djamena , yet experienced and combative , and key partners of French especially hope to restore a semblance of stability in the country.
Fire of undetermined origin caused panic Wednesday, December 25 in Bangui, in the northern districts and near the airport , held firmly by French soldiers in a city abandoned to chaos and widespread insecurity are fears of further massacres .
These shots have gradually ceased with nightfall . To 19 hours , an uneasy calm prevailed in the city plunged into darkness , where telephone communications were increasingly difficult .
After many incidents and intermittent gunfire during the morning in several districts of the capital , shooting focused and intensified As the day progresses towards the city center to the south.
To 15 hours , they approached the immediate vicinity of the airport, where French soldiers are based Sangaris of operation and the various contingents of the African Standby Force ( Misca ) . The shooting apparently not sought the airport, but it was very difficult in the general confusion , to identify the source and authors.
From the airport , hundreds of panicked residents fled neighboring districts on foot. Current between the houses and trying to stay covered, some were heading south towards the city center . Many of them came to find refuge in an indescribable rush along the runways of the airport, where tens of thousands of displaced people who fled the violence of the past three weeks already living in poverty .
The French army deployed a dozen armored
A dozen French armored vehicles are deployed at the entrance to the airport, already secured by the French soldiers who were now fighting position behind their sandbags.
The events of the day are very confused. The identity of the belligerents remain unknown for the moment : militia "anti- Balaka " ( Christians ) fighters, the former rebellion Seleka . The use of heavy machine guns, and the presence in the combat zones and 4x4 armored Chadian contingent Misca suggest that these Chadian soldiers were involved.
No report was available. A resident of PK5 , a mixed neighborhood predominantly Muslim on the road from the city center , has reported several people killed by "anti- Balaka " infiltrated the area . The bodies of the victims, he did not say how many were gathered in a local mosque .
A thousand people killed since December 5
The streets quickly emptied , people were cloistered at home with family . In the most exposed sectors , families terrorized crouched under tables, took refuge under the bed for fear of stray bullets , constantly on the phone calling their loved ones .
" The Seleka ( former rebels in power) kill us , they entered the neighborhood, they draw on the people ," said one of these people. Other evoked instead a Christian militia attack self-defense "anti- Balaka " .
A thousand people have been killed since Dec. 5 in Bangui and in the provinces, in the attacks of Christian vigilante "anti- Balaka " (anti- machete in Sango ) and in retaliation against the population Seleka .
Violence rising inexorably over days
In the capital, after a short respite , the violence resumed late last week , rising inexorably power over days . The French system (1,600 men , a thousand deployed in Bangui ) and 4,000 men of the Misca were clearly not sufficient to extinguish the fire that continued to smolder in a city still stifled by religious hatred, where Christians - victims for months abuses of Seleka - thirst for vengeance against the former rebels and Muslim civilians who now associated with them .
Implicated in several recent incidents , and Bangui accused by many of complicity with the former Seleka the Chadian contingent Misca will soon leave Bangui and be redeployed in the north of the country with a Muslim majority .
"All the Chadian contingent will be sent to secure the north in the coming days " , said a spokesman for the Misca , Lieutenant Colonel Ndong Toutoune . The spokesman gave no details on the terms or the exact location of this redeployment .
A growing resentment towards Bangui Chadian soldiers
The announcement comes two days after firing fratricide even within the African force between Chadian and Burundian soldiers . On Tuesday, the head of the Burundian contingent revealed that his men had been the day before the target of an attack by Chadian soldiers with automatic weapons fire and throw grenades. The attack was repulsed and wounded three Chadian soldiers , according to the officer .
That same morning , a Chadian patrol had briefly opened fire - in the eye of journalists - on anti- Seleka protesters outside the airport , killing one .
These repeated incidents have led to a growing resentment among many Bangui , and undermined the credibility of the military N'Djamena , yet experienced and combative , and key partners of French especially hope to restore a semblance of stability in the country.
