BANGUI, Central African Republic - Fighting swept Thursday through the capital of Central African Republic, leaving nearly 100 people dead and posing the biggest threat yet to the country’s new government. The U.N. Security Council authorized an intervention force to prevent a bloodbath between Christians and Muslims.
Witnesses and aid workers said at least 98 people are dead in Bangui after a day of clashes between the Muslim armed fighters who rule the country and a Christian militia that opposes them.
An Associated Press journalist counted 48 bodies at a mosque in a northern neighborhood late Thursday. Separately, Doctors Without Borders confirmed at least 50 people were dead at hospitals they are running.
The armed Christian fighters attacked the capital before dawn, in the most serious violence to hit Bangui since a March coup put the Seleka rebel coalition in control.
The Central African Republic, a landlocked country of 4.6 million in the heart of Africa, has been subjected to a seemingly endless cycle of coups, counter coups and rebellions.
But the situation has worsened since the rebel group known as Seleka, or alliance, chased out the president, Francois Bozize, earlier this year and replaced him with Michel Djotodia. Seleka, a mostly Muslim grouping in a largely Christian country, has exerted little authority over its own forces, which have since subjected the population to repeated and well-documented killings, arbitrary arrests and kidnappings.
According to the United Nations, about 400,000 people, almost a tenth of the population, have fled towns and villages, many of them hiding in the bush.
Militia groups have sprung up to oppose Seleka - Christian, for the most part - and the fighting Thursday appeared to be a calculated demonstration of force by Seleka’s opponents, observers in Bangui said.
Seleka’s opponents have “chosen this moment to say we’re here, and you’ve got to reckon with us,” said Renner Onana, an official with the U.N. mission in the country.
“I think it is well calculated,” Onana said. “It is not just a coincidence.”
Prosper Ndouba, a top adviser to Djotodia, said he was certain that Bozize was behind the attacks Thursday.
“It’s Bozize’s partisans. They have always been in some of the neighborhoods,” Ndouba said. “It’s calmed down now,” he added. “The situation has stabilized.”
Earlier Thursday in Bangui, people scurried indoors, some seeking sanctuary in a church. Inside a Bangui hospital, dozens of people with gunshot wounds lay on the floor or on wooden benches, waiting for hours to see a physician. Underscoring the chaos, even the president’s and prime minister’s homes were looted.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously authorized increased military action by France and African troops aimed at restoring security and protecting civilians in the volatile former French colony.
Speaking from the Elysee Palace in Paris, French President Francois Hollande promised that the 600 troops in the country will be doubled “within a few days, even a few hours.” He said the Central African Republic was “calling us for help,” and he “decided to act immediately.”
Britain is discussing offering logistical support to France for its military operation in the Central African Republic, officials said Thursday, an effort that could mirror U.K. assistance for a previous French intervention in Mali.
The U.K. Defense Ministry said it is in discussions with France about providing “limited logistical support,” but that sending U.K. combat troops “is not on the table.”
A French defense official said the French hope that Britain can help ferry in troops from African countries that contribute to the international mission in Central African Republic. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter, declined to identify the types of aircraft that Britain might provide - but it would likely involve military transport aircraft.
Central African Republic’s prime minister welcomed the intervention while in Paris for a summit of dozens of African leaders hosted by Hollande. In his first reaction to the move, Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye said that he sees it “very positively” and that he had wanted a “firm reaction from France.” He called for fast action “to put an end to this violence and these atrocities.”
Tiangaye confirmed his house had been looted, describing the attackers as a group of Seleka who arrived in three pickups.
“It’s true, my house was attacked and pillaged,” he said, adding that his family was evacuated beforehand and was safe.
Babacar Gaye, the U.N. special representative for the Central African Republic, appealed for calm in a joint statement from the U.N., European Union, African Union and France.
In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney condemned the “shocking and horrific atrocities against civilians” and said the U.S. was providing $40 million in assistance to the African Union mission.
Djotodia has increasingly sought to distance himself from Seleka, which has been blamed for scores of atrocities in Bangui, killing and raping civilians and stealing from aid groups and orphanages. He has even less control in the distant provinces where anger over Seleka human-rights abuses fueled the formation of the Christian anti-balaka movement several months ago. Balaka means “machete.”
While the anti-balaka fighters include villagers defending their communities against Seleka attacks, the group is believed to be receiving support from Bozize allies. The anti-balaka fighters also have been implicated in massacres of Muslim civilian populations, which also have suffered under the Seleka regime and say they are being unfairly blamed for the destruction.
Humanitarian agencies on Thursday warned of the need to swiftly deploy international forces in the capital to prevent further fighting.
“This is not a war between an army and a rebel group.It’s really become a conflict between communities where people are being targeted based on their religion,” said Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch, who has documented scores of attacks in Central African Republic.
“And it is actually the Muslim community which is the most vulnerable because of the vast abuses committed by the Seleka and the fact that they are a relatively small minority amongst a much larger Christian population who are just furious because of the abuses they have suffered” under the Seleka.
“We’ve received numerous reports from very credible sources of extrajudicial executions,” an Amnesty International official, Joanne Mariner, said. “This underscores the need for international troops to arrive and secure the city. The situation is quickly spiraling out of control.”
The U.N. Security Council resolution authorizes the deployment of an African Union-led force to Central African Republic for a year to protect civilians and restore security and public order. The African Union force is replacing a regional peacekeeping mission whose presence has been mainly limited to the capital and a few northern cities.
The U.N. resolution also authorizes French forces, for a temporary period, “to take all necessary measures” to support the African Union led force, whose troop numbers are expected to rise from about 2,500 to 3,500.
Information for this article was contributed by Krista Larson, Edith M. Lederer, Lori Hinnant, Sylvie Corbet, Cassandra Vinograd, Jamey Keaten, Jose Richard Pouambi and Jerome Delay of The Associated Press; by Adam Nossiter of The New York Times; and by Robyn Dixon of the Los Angeles Times.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/06/2013