UN envoy warns on upsurge in CAR violence

The United Nations remains wary of security in the Central African Republic as violence persists in the outskirts of the capital.

UN envoy Herve Ladsous told the Security Council the new upsurge of violence warrants continued international support.

Already, some 100,000 people have fled their homes and more than half of the population needs humanitarian assistance.

“In Bangui, we can say, it is relatively calm. By contrast, violence connected to transhumance in the northwest of the country continues. Generally, these are peaceful movements of millions of cattle escorted by its shepherds. Nevertheless, there is a problem of clashes between ex-Seleka, or Popular Front for the Renaissance of Central African Republic (FPRC) and the Union for Peace in Central African Republic (UPRC), and this continues to threaten the central region. These clashes also carry a disturbing ethnic connotation,” said Ladsous.

Recently, Human Rights Watch highlighted that rebels killed at least 32 civilians after clashes with a rival armed group.

The killings were carried out in the town of Bakala in December 12.

On Wednesday, the government appointed a prosecutor to a U.N.-backed special criminal court created to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity.

An inter-religious conflict in 2013, plunged CAR into chaos.