Retreating rebels kill and loot as they leave Central African Republic
February 21, 2014
Members of the Seleka rebel group have engaged in killings, rape, and looting as they retreat from the Central African Republic into Chad, an Italian Carmelite priest has told Aid to the Church in Need.
Father Aurelio Gazzera said that two European religious and a volunteer helper at their mission near the border with Chad were robbed and molested before the rebels moved on. Father Gazzera also reported a massacre in the village of Nzakoun, also near the border, were 22 people were killed. He said that in other villages, residents had fled into the jungle to escape the marauding rebels, and returned to find their homes demolished and burned.
The missionary priest suggested that peacekeeping troops should escort the rebels to Chad. “Especially in the border zone, military protection is urgently needed to prevent assaults and massacres,” Father Gazzera said.
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