Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - No money, no food, no petrol. But there is fear. Plenty of it.It is fear that haunts the dusty streets of PK5, a Muslim neighbourhood in Bangui, the Central African Republic (CAR) capital that Pope Francis plans to visit on Sunday and Monday.Under siege from Christian militia -- known as "anti-balaka" fighters -- backed by ex-army troops, residents of the city's last Muslim district are cornered amid the burnt rubble and debris of war, hungry but too afraid to venture out."Nobody can leave PK5 and go on Boganda avenue without being stoned, kidnapped or killed by armed groups," said a young Muslim who gave her name as Aziza."We are all afraid." The PK5 district, a maze of dirt-red roads and flimsy shacks, epitomizes the sectarian conflict tearing apart impoverished CAR.If security permits, Francis is scheduled to visit its mosque on the last leg of his three-nation Africa tour, his first visit to the continent.The district was the epicentre of an unprecedented wave of violence pitting majority Christians against minority Muslims that began in late 2013 and has continued since. One of the poorest and most unstable countries in Africa, the country plunged into chaos after former president Francois Bozize was ousted in a coup in March 2013.The mainly Muslim rebels behind the coup went on a bloody rampage that triggered the emergence of the equally dangerous anti-Balaka militia in mostly Christian communities.At the height of the massacres, around one in five of CAR's 4.6 million people were displaced and half the population forced to live on humanitarian aid."We don't have anything here: vegetables, water, electricity or health care," said local shopkeeper Ashta Babayero.Residents said they had pleaded for help from UN peacekeepers in the MINUSCA force as well as from French forces there.- Cornered, unable to move -But Ahmat Moussa, also a shopkeeper, said international forces were refusing aid."Before, the MINUSCA patrols would escort those who wanted to leave, but it's no longer the case.""We can't even go to the bank to take out money.
Comment on Fear haunts besieged Muslim district of C.Africa ahead of pope's visit
Christian Panika in Bangui, Jean-Pierre Campagne in Libreville, Business Insider
Fri, 11/27/2015 - 9:12pm
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