Rape Victims Protest Abuses in Central African Republic War
by Ilya Gridneff
6:00 PM EST
January 29, 2015
A U.N. Peacekeeper Guided a Protester in Bambari
(Bloomberg) -- Four young women stripped naked and threw themselves on the red earth as a squad of French peace keepers in the Central African Republic stood by stone-faced.
“We take our clothes off because we have been raped too many times,” one of them screamed in the Sango language. “We don’t care any more.”
The young women staged their impromptu protest as the French soldiers prevented clashes between hundreds of Muslim and Christian youths on a bridge over the Ouaka River in the Central African Republic’s second-biggest city, Bambari. It highlighted the enduring human toll of a conflict that’s disrupted gold and uranium exploration in the country, which is the world’s 12th-biggest diamond producer, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
French Colonel Pierre Hervé, sporting a graze on his face after being hit by a rock, said violence flared in Bambari, about 280 kilometers (173 miles) northeast of the capital, Bangui, because of the arrival of government officials from a nationwide consultation process designed to bring peace.
“It’s very difficult to understand,” he said. “Originally both sides agreed to receive the delegation, but this changed and now the young Muslim men don’t want the government consultation team here at all.”
The Central African Republic has been gripped by lawlessness since Seleka, a mainly Muslim alliance of anti-government rebel militias, overthrew Christian President Francois Bozize in March 2013. The takeover was marked by the widespread killing of civilians, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.
International Criticism
The Seleka government led by interim President Michel Djotodia resigned in January 2014 after a wave of international criticism that he failed to stop the violence. A transitional authority led by Catherine Samba-Panza took over and is supposed to organize elections by August. So far, it has failed to extend its authority beyond Bangui.
Thousands of people have died, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres, the Geneva-based medical charity, while the United Nations says more than 2.5 million need urgent humanitarian assistance.
Human Rights Watch has documented and received reports of rapes carried out by both sides, Lewis Mudge, the group’s Central African Republic analyst, said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Gunpoint Assaults
“Most women raped by both Seleka elements and anti-balaka are done so at gunpoint, often times after looting,” he said. “The endless violence the population has endured throughout the country has broken down social norms, but women and girls who have been raped are perhaps the most affected.”
The country remains divided between the anti-balaka militias, which describe themselves as village self-defense groups, in the west, and Seleka rebels that control the east, according to the UN. There is no functioning national army.
The young girls who stripped at the bridge blamed both militias for abusing them. “Seleka rape us, anti-balaka rape us, it is too much, we are fed up,” one shouted.
The French troops at the bridge are part of a force of about 2,260 peace keepers from the former colonial ruler whose deployment was authorized by the UN Security Council in 2013. A UN force, known by its acronym Minusca, has about 8,500 soldiers of its planned 11,800-member contingent.
War Crimes
The International Criminal Court is investigating allegations against both sides for crimes against humanity, war crimes, the use of child soldiers, and abuses including rape, murder and attacks against humanitarian aid missions, Nicola Fletcher, an ICC spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.
The government hopes a “Bangui Forum” in March can bring together all the key groups, officials and community representatives to move toward elections tentatively set for July and August, Minister for National Reconciliation Jeannette Dethoua said in an interview.
While the UN has a mandate to disarm militias, young armed Seleka men in uniform freely roam around Bambari and the region. A Seleka base in Bambari is opposite a UN compound.
This week at the bridge over the Ouaka River, both sides were brewing for a fight. Youths lit fires and hurled stones and abuse at the handful of French soldiers standing guard behind armored personnel carriers.
Muslims Sidelined
Muslims feel that they’re being sidelined in the peace process, Audarrassa Mahamat, military coordinator of the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic, the dominant Seleka faction in Bambari, said in an interview. About 15 percent of the population is Muslim while the majority is Christian, according to the CIA World Factbook.
“They were protesting at the bridge because the government chose six Muslims out of 300 people for the consultation forum,” he said. “I recognize Seleka and anti-balaka did bad things in the past in this region. That’s in the past. The problem now is bringing peace.”
Later in the afternoon, short bursts of automatic gunfire and a few explosions were heard from near the bridge. French army spokesman Colonel Laurent Bastide said in a text message from Bangui that the fighting was between Central African Republic police and a Seleka faction.
French troops “took part to help the police. Nobody was wounded in our ranks,” he said. “It is now dangerous in Bambari.”
U.S. Condemnation
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned attacks and threats against grassroots consultation teams in a Jan. 27 statement, saying they must be allowed “free and unimpeded movement.”
“Our message to those who would derail this process with violence, threats, or other means is simple: stop now, and allow all the people of CAR to participate in the dialogue process in peace,” she said.
Those who oppose the peace process are being used to fight for personal political and economic interests and aren’t really battling over religion, minister Dethoua said.
“Most of the people were manipulated in this country when the conflict arrived,” she said. “We need to talk to the young people to drop this bad behavior in order to have a good future.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Gridneff in Bambari, Central African Republic at
igridneff@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net Karl Maier, Paul Richardson
6:00 PM EST
January 29, 2015
A U.N. Peacekeeper Guided a Protester in Bambari
(Bloomberg) -- Four young women stripped naked and threw themselves on the red earth as a squad of French peace keepers in the Central African Republic stood by stone-faced.
“We take our clothes off because we have been raped too many times,” one of them screamed in the Sango language. “We don’t care any more.”
The young women staged their impromptu protest as the French soldiers prevented clashes between hundreds of Muslim and Christian youths on a bridge over the Ouaka River in the Central African Republic’s second-biggest city, Bambari. It highlighted the enduring human toll of a conflict that’s disrupted gold and uranium exploration in the country, which is the world’s 12th-biggest diamond producer, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
French Colonel Pierre Hervé, sporting a graze on his face after being hit by a rock, said violence flared in Bambari, about 280 kilometers (173 miles) northeast of the capital, Bangui, because of the arrival of government officials from a nationwide consultation process designed to bring peace.
“It’s very difficult to understand,” he said. “Originally both sides agreed to receive the delegation, but this changed and now the young Muslim men don’t want the government consultation team here at all.”
The Central African Republic has been gripped by lawlessness since Seleka, a mainly Muslim alliance of anti-government rebel militias, overthrew Christian President Francois Bozize in March 2013. The takeover was marked by the widespread killing of civilians, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.
International Criticism
The Seleka government led by interim President Michel Djotodia resigned in January 2014 after a wave of international criticism that he failed to stop the violence. A transitional authority led by Catherine Samba-Panza took over and is supposed to organize elections by August. So far, it has failed to extend its authority beyond Bangui.
Thousands of people have died, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres, the Geneva-based medical charity, while the United Nations says more than 2.5 million need urgent humanitarian assistance.
Human Rights Watch has documented and received reports of rapes carried out by both sides, Lewis Mudge, the group’s Central African Republic analyst, said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Gunpoint Assaults
“Most women raped by both Seleka elements and anti-balaka are done so at gunpoint, often times after looting,” he said. “The endless violence the population has endured throughout the country has broken down social norms, but women and girls who have been raped are perhaps the most affected.”
The country remains divided between the anti-balaka militias, which describe themselves as village self-defense groups, in the west, and Seleka rebels that control the east, according to the UN. There is no functioning national army.
The young girls who stripped at the bridge blamed both militias for abusing them. “Seleka rape us, anti-balaka rape us, it is too much, we are fed up,” one shouted.
The French troops at the bridge are part of a force of about 2,260 peace keepers from the former colonial ruler whose deployment was authorized by the UN Security Council in 2013. A UN force, known by its acronym Minusca, has about 8,500 soldiers of its planned 11,800-member contingent.
War Crimes
The International Criminal Court is investigating allegations against both sides for crimes against humanity, war crimes, the use of child soldiers, and abuses including rape, murder and attacks against humanitarian aid missions, Nicola Fletcher, an ICC spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.
The government hopes a “Bangui Forum” in March can bring together all the key groups, officials and community representatives to move toward elections tentatively set for July and August, Minister for National Reconciliation Jeannette Dethoua said in an interview.
While the UN has a mandate to disarm militias, young armed Seleka men in uniform freely roam around Bambari and the region. A Seleka base in Bambari is opposite a UN compound.
This week at the bridge over the Ouaka River, both sides were brewing for a fight. Youths lit fires and hurled stones and abuse at the handful of French soldiers standing guard behind armored personnel carriers.
Muslims Sidelined
Muslims feel that they’re being sidelined in the peace process, Audarrassa Mahamat, military coordinator of the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic, the dominant Seleka faction in Bambari, said in an interview. About 15 percent of the population is Muslim while the majority is Christian, according to the CIA World Factbook.
“They were protesting at the bridge because the government chose six Muslims out of 300 people for the consultation forum,” he said. “I recognize Seleka and anti-balaka did bad things in the past in this region. That’s in the past. The problem now is bringing peace.”
Later in the afternoon, short bursts of automatic gunfire and a few explosions were heard from near the bridge. French army spokesman Colonel Laurent Bastide said in a text message from Bangui that the fighting was between Central African Republic police and a Seleka faction.
French troops “took part to help the police. Nobody was wounded in our ranks,” he said. “It is now dangerous in Bambari.”
U.S. Condemnation
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned attacks and threats against grassroots consultation teams in a Jan. 27 statement, saying they must be allowed “free and unimpeded movement.”
“Our message to those who would derail this process with violence, threats, or other means is simple: stop now, and allow all the people of CAR to participate in the dialogue process in peace,” she said.
Those who oppose the peace process are being used to fight for personal political and economic interests and aren’t really battling over religion, minister Dethoua said.
“Most of the people were manipulated in this country when the conflict arrived,” she said. “We need to talk to the young people to drop this bad behavior in order to have a good future.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Gridneff in Bambari, Central African Republic at
igridneff@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net Karl Maier, Paul Richardson
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