The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the lack of security keeps the population in a constant state of fear across the Central African Republic (CAR).
Patrick L’Hote, the ICRC head of operations for Central and Southern Africa, said in Geneva on Wednesday that residents were being held hostage to pillaging, killings and sexual violence meted out by the warring factions.
“What is going on now between the communities is very difficult and puts the people in a very difficult situation. They fear for their life,” the senior ICRC official said, adding, “They are put under a lot of pressure during the day, but also during the night. And, this takes place in a country, which was already before the events in a state of extreme poverty.”
This comes as rights groups and international bodies have expressed serious concerns over the ongoing violence against Muslims in the war-ravaged African country.
The UN has described the displacement of the Muslims of the CAR as ethnic-religious cleansing.
The UN refugee agency has recently said it is prepared to help evacuate some 19,000 Muslims who are at risk of attack from anti-balaka Christian militia in the CAR.
“What we don’t want is to stand by and watch people being slaughtered,” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokeswoman, Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, said on Tuesday.
The conflict in the CAR erupted after Christian militia launched coordinated attacks on the mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government last March.
Christian militiamen, however, have been targeting the Muslim population as a whole.
French and African peacekeepers are on the ground, but they have been unable to stop the violence and even in some occasions have been accused of killing Muslims.
So far, thousands of people are believed to have been killed and more than one million displaced.
JR/SS
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