Posted: 10/07/2015 at 4:57pm
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Leading African Pastor Escapes Death Amidst Renewed Violence By Michael Ireland, Senior Reporter, ASSIST News Service, CENTRAL
AFRICAN REPUBLIC (ANS, Oct.5, 2015) -- One of the top three religious
leaders in the Central African Republic (CAR), who has won global recognition
for his efforts to end the conflict, has escaped an assassination attempt, as
the capital, Bangui, has seen a renewed wave of violence.
Coming just a few weeks before a planned referendum and subsequent October
elections aimed at putting an end to the transitional government, this violence
has now caused the interim President to cancel the elections.
According to an article by Illia Djadi, writing for World Watch Monitor, www.worldwatchmonitor.org,
the President of CAR’s Evangelical Alliance, Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame-Gbangou,
was targeted in an attack apparently triggered by the death of a young Muslim
motorcycle taxi driver. His body was found in the predominantly Christian 5th
district on Saturday, September 26, then taken to a mosque in the 3rd district,
known also as Km5 – formerly considered by many as a stronghold of Séléka
rebels, and a "no-go zone" for all non-Muslims.
World Watch Monitor says who killed the young taxi-driver and why are still
unknown.
In its report, World watch monitor says that at about 9am on September 26,
angry Muslim youths left the 3rd district and poured into the 5th district,
brandishing automatic weapons, machetes, and raiding and destroying properties.
They entered the Elim Church compound, where Rev. Guerekoyame-Gbangou’s house is
located, asking for him.
"I left the compound at about 8.30. But some 30 minutes later, a group of
young Muslims arrived at my house," Rev. Guerekoyame-Gbangou told World Watch
Monitor.
"The assailants asked for ‘pastor Nicolas, who is pro-peace … but who always
attacks us’. But they learned that I had already left the house,” the pastor
said.
"They then told my family to leave the property. One of the assailants
brandished a knife and threated to kill my older son, but another assailant
prevented him from doing it."
World Watch Monitor reports the angry mob then looted all valuable items,
before setting fire to the house. The assailants also ransacked other buildings
in the compound, setting fire to them, and shooting randomly.
"Unfortunately they killed two people before leaving the compound," said Rev.
Guerekoyame-Gbangou. "The victims, who had their throats cut, were displaced
people who had sought refuge within our compound."
Rev. Guerekoyame-Gbangou’s family was unharmed and has moved to an
undisclosed safe place, the news outlet said.
World
Watch Monitor explained that CAR had experienced religious and ethnic unrest
between mainly Muslim Séléka rebels and mainly animist "anti-balaka" militia for
more than two years since Séléka seized power in March 2013. It was believed
that the country was recovering after reconciliation efforts by the top Muslim
and Christian clerics, which had led to them receiving a peace award in
August.
The violence, the worst the capital has experienced this year, has dashed
Bangui’s fragile stability, the news outlet said.
World Watch Monitor also said that early on the afternoon of September 26,
"anti-balaka" ("anti-machete") militias started fighting back, leading to their
deadly clashes with Muslim armed groups and ex- Séléka rebels. Witnesses
reported people slaughtered or shot at close range, corpses littering the ground
or thrown into wells. Places of worship and homes were looted and burned.
The news outlet reported the Catholic Saint Michel church was set ablaze,
while Saint Mathias Parish church was ransacked and desecrated. A mosque and a
Muslim radio headquarters were also attacked, as well as several international
humanitarian organizations’ offices, whose relief stock and materials were
looted.
Then news outlet said the violence continued despite a night curfew imposed
by the authorities; the tension was still high with sporadic gun and weapon
detonations heard on Tuesday. The violence caused President Samba-Panza to leave
the UN General Assembly to rush home.
World Watch Monitor reported the UN said on Tuesday that at least 40 people
have lost their lives since September 26, and nearly 30,000 people were forced
to flee. But the death toll could be much higher, local sources told World Watch
Monitor, as more bodies may be discovered, and hundreds are feared to be
injured.
The news outlet said Rule of law was dealt a further blow when some 500
inmates broke out of the central prison in Bangui. Most of them are
"anti-balaka," according to the BBC.
While deploring this new wave of violence, Rev. Guerekoyame-Gbangou said that
the attack which targeted him will not undermine his commitment to peace in
CAR.
"Any commitment has a price. As a pastor and ambassador of peace, I cannot
focus on my interests as a person, or my family," he said.
"The interest of the Central African people is the most important, provided
that we are successful in our mission to reconcile the Central Africans and
bring peace."
The other two members of the interfaith platform – the Archbishop of Bangui,
Msgr. Dieudonné Nzapalainga and Imam Omar Kobine Layama, the President of the
Islamic Community of Central Africa – have also appealed for calm and
restraint.
In addition to the violence, World Watch Monitor stated that hundreds of
people demonstrated to express their discontent against French troops, accused
of inertia over armed groups – responsible, the demonstrators said, for the
violence.
The news agency explained that opposition parties called for mass
demonstrations on Wednesday, Sept. 30, against the UN and French forces to make
way for the reconstitution of the national armed forces, the resignation of the
interim President and the start of a new transition.
Rev. Guerekoyame-Gbangou said an urgent priority is to disarm the militias
and to restore the national armed forces, to enable them to play their task of
protecting the country from inter-communal violence.
Main Image: Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame-Gbangou (World Watch Monitor)
Other photo on this page : Left to right: Imam Omar Kobine Layama, Msgr.
Dieudonné Nzapalainga and Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame-Gbangou collect their awards
at the UN in Switzerland in August, 2015. (Courtesy World Watch Monitor). Source: Assist News
Service
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