At least 21 people, including children and a soldier, were brutally slain in a rebel attack targeting a security outpost and a village in northern Central African Republic Thursday, local authorities confirmed.
The assault unfolded in a chilling sequence. Rebels first stormed an army checkpoint, killing one soldier and injuring several others, before unleashing their fury on the nearby village of Nzakoundou. “They descended upon civilians, leaving at least 20 dead in their wake,” stated Ernest Bonang, a federal lawmaker representing the ravaged village.
Not content with the bloodshed, the attackers descended upon homes, setting them ablaze in a display of wanton destruction. Bonang reported Nzakoundou “emptied of its population,” driven out by the flames and fear.
This latest chapter in the Central African Republic’s ongoing saga of violence underscores the deep scars etched by a conflict that began a decade ago. Since 2013, the mineral-rich nation has been embroiled in brutal intercommunal clashes, triggered by the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seizing power and ousting President Francois Bozize. Christian militias retaliated, igniting a cycle of bloodshed that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced over a million people, a fifth of the nation’s population.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission, MINUSCA, has struggled to quell the inferno of violence. No group has readily claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack, though locals point fingers at the 3R militia, a notorious armed group notorious for its brutal tactics. Formed in 2015, the 3R claims to champion the minority Peuhl community, yet stands accused of mass killings and village plundering.
“They have turned my town into a bloodbath once more,” lamented Ndim’s mayor, Josephine Helari. “Families are shattered, forced to flee their homes reduced to ashes.” Helari’s desperate plea resonated, an urgent call for action to end the carnage gripping northern CAR.
The attack exposes the vulnerability of the region despite President Faustin Archange Touade’s security measures. “This tension screams of a region abandoned,” declared opposition member Ozias Carrière Lagbo. “Despite a supposed military presence, resources to effectively respond to such atrocities are woefully inadequate.”
As investigations into the Nzakoundou tragedy unfold, the Central African Republic faces a stark reality – a nation yearning for peace, haunted by the ghosts of violence, grappling with the weight of a seemingly endless conflict.
