ICC Note: At least 16 people were killed after former Muslim militia members attacked a church in the Central African Republic with grenades and gunfire. The assault on the church was likely a retaliation for a security operation that was started three weeks prior by UN troops and national security forces. Local activists believe that this is more about political leaders gaining control than about different religious groups not getting along.

05/03/2018 Central African Republic (The New York Times) – NAIROBI, Kenya — Former members of a Muslim militia killed at least 16 people in an attack on a church in the Central African Republic, raising fears that ongoing violence could return to the capital city.

Notre Dame of Fatima, a Roman Catholic church in the capital, Bangui, was attacked Tuesday morning with grenades and gunfire by men allied with a rebel group once known as Seleka, an Islamic faction whose takeover of Bangui five years ago set off the country’s continuing conflict.

Several thousand worshipers were at the church at the time, said Kessy Ekomo-Soignet, a grass-roots activist who runs a youth program in Bangui. The church’s priest, the Rev. Toungoumale Baba, was among the dead. To protest the violence, a large crowd carried Father Baba’s body to the presidential palace, witnesses said.

United Nations peacekeeping officials in Bangui said the attack had followed the arrest of a member of a “criminal group” associated with the former rebel group.

…

For interviews with Nathan Johnson, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected]