Hundreds of Muslims trapped in horrible conditions to escape killings

oge okonkwo

December 23, 2014 10:18 PM

Most of the Muslims in the west of CAR escaped brutal attacks by Christian and animist anti-balaka militants between late 2013 and early 2014

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that hundreds of Muslims are currently trapped in enclaves in horrible conditions in the Central African Republic (CAR), over fear of being attacked if they leave and blocked from fleeing abroad by the interim government.

According to a researcher at HRW Lewis Mudge, “Those trapped in some of the enclaves face a grim choice: leave and face possible attack from anti-balaka fighters, or stay and die from hunger and disease.”

“The government’s policy of no evacuations is absolutely indefensible, ” Mudge says.

Most of the Muslims in the west of CAR escaped brutal attacks by Christian and animist anti-balaka militants between late 2013 and early 2014.

HRW also condemned U.N. peacekeepers for alleged complicity in hindering Muslims to seek safety.

Camp leaders in the western Muslim enclaves of Yaloké, Carnot and Boda told researchers earlier this month that an estimated 1,750 people, many of them ethnic Peuhl herders, are desperate to flee.

The Associated press reports that over 5,000 people have been killed by the militants between December 2013 and September 2014.

oge okonkwo