Five persons, including a pregnant woman, were killed on Tuesday by Mbarara Peuhls in the locality of Kaga-Bandoro, in the prefecture of Nana-Gribizi, about 25 kilometres from Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.
The attacks were launched on the town as former President Francois Bozize who is the presidential candidate of the Kwan na Kwa party was holding a campaign rally in the town.
Eyewitness accounts reveal that the heavily armed Mbarara Peuhl fighters attacked the town unprovoked and in retaliation, the inhabitants of Ngouvota seized one Mbarara peuhl and hacked him to death.
Schools have been closed since the vicious attacks while human activities have been grounded to a halt in the locality.
The rebel fighters are now reported to be camped near the River Gribizi.
Up to the time of filing this report, no reason has been given for the attack on the town but knowledgeable observers of the Central African Republic situation say such unprovoked attacks are the order of the day in the war-torn country.
HumAngle reports that most of the peuhls in the Central African Republic are sympathisers of the Unite pour Centrafrique (UPC) rebel movement.
Though the attack occurred just 25km from the national capital, no national army presence has been signalled up till now.
“One is beginning to have the impression that the Armed Force of the Central African Republic (FACA) are no longer interested in the security of the citizens,” asked a civil society activist who declined to give his name for fear of reprisals from the military.
“If not, how does one explain that these attacks are so regular yet hardly any response from the national army follows the attacks. Should one say there is some sort of war fatigue setting in within the national army?”.
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