Central African priest receives human rights award for sheltering Muslim civilians

September 19, 2014

Human Rights Watch has bestowed an award upon Father Bernard Kinvi, a priest in the Central African Republic who sheltered hundred of Muslims whose lives were threatened by anti-Balaka forces.

Islamist Séléka forces held sway in the country from March 2013 until January 2014 and conducted a campaign of persecution against Christian churches. Anti-Balaka forces, composed largely of animists and Christians, originally organized in self-defense but later took revenge, attacking mosques and driving numerous Muslims from their homes. The nation’s hierarchy has emphasized that anti-Balaka is not a Christian organization and has denounced human rights violations on both sides.

According to Human Rights Watch, after an attack on Muslims “Kinvi spent days searching for Muslim survivors, many of them children, and taking them to the Catholic church for safety. During the course of the conflict, he sheltered hundreds of Muslims in the church, despite repeated death threats.”

 

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Further information:

• Father Bernard Kinvi, Central African Republic (Human Rights Watch)
• "He protected the Muslims": the Alison Des Forges Award to a Central African camillian (Fides)