CAR: Violent clashes in PK5 district of Bangui March 31

Event

On Saturday, March 31, violent clashes broke out in the Muslim-majority PK5 district of the capital Bangui. According to local sources, self-defense groups opened fire on UN MINUSCA peacekeepers. The altercation occurred amid increasing tensions in the district between the UN peacekeeping force and armed groups.

Context

Religious conflicts have afflicted CAR since December 2013. The conflict has led to hundreds of deaths, created almost 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and pushed more than 500,000 people to seek refuge in neighboring Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad. Clashes between various armed groups continue to be reported on a regular basis despite the June 2017 signing of a ceasefire agreement between the CAR government and 13 out of the 14 rebel groups present in the country.

Bangui has been regularly affected by deadly clashes between the Christian Anti-Balaka group and ex-Seleka Muslim militias, particularly in the PK5 district, which has long been an epicenter of ethnic violence. Tensions have increased since mid-January following the decision of local businessmen to stop paying self-defense militias that had been providing "protection" since 2014; they also filed a number of complaints against the groups and demanded their bases in the PK5 neighborhood be dismantled by MINUSCA.

Advice

Individuals present in Bangui are advised to monitor local developments and maintain a high degree of situational awareness.

More generally, a number of Western governments advise their citizens against travel to the east and northeast of the country for various security reasons, including the presence of armed groups and ongoing conflicts.