BANGUI, Central African Republic: Deadly violence including reports of cannibalism and widespread looting gripped the capital of the Central African Republic yesterday after the resignation of its ex-rebel president and with stranded foreigners waiting to be airlifted out of the country.
Sporadic gunfire was heard overnight in Bangui with the shooting leaving three people dead — a Christian vigilante, a former rebel and a civilian — the head of the Central African Red Cross, pastor Antoine Mbaobogo, said.
There has also been looting throughout the city with crowds breaking down the doors of shops, many of them belonging to Muslims, reflecting the sectarian nature of the strife that has wracked the country, a correspondents reported.
“Those who were looted when the (mainly Muslim) Seleka (rebels) arrived (in March last year) are now looting in turn,” Mbaobogo said. Some of the thieves allegedly committed acts of cannibalism, witnesses said.
One resident of the capital, still in shock, related an incident on Tuesday when a Muslim man was attacked by a group who cut him up with a machete.
“One of the individuals took hold of an arm and went and bought some bread and starting chewing on the flesh, along with his bread,” said 35-year-old Jean-Sylvestre Tchya. “The scene made many people vomit, and some cried out in horror,” he said.
Another witness, Alain Gbabobou, said he saw a man pick up the head and wrap it up carefully, saying he would “feast on it” later.
Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration said it would begin Saturday to airlift thousands of foreigners out of the strife-torn country following appeals from neighbouring countries.
More than 60,000 people from other African nations have asked for help at their embassies in the Central African Republic, an IOM statement said, adding that requests had come from Chad, Niger, Mali, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo to aid their stranded nationals.
On Saturday morning in Bangui a student who gave his name as Berson told AFP that looting had been going on since Friday, when Michel Djotodia stepped down as president under intense diplomatic pressure. “It’s the shops of Muslims that have been looted in this neighbourhood,” Berson said. “There are a lot of Seleka (ex-rebels) in this area.
AFP
