CAR: UN peacekeeper killed in Bangui April 10 /update 3

Event

Tensions remain high in the PK5 area of Bangui as of Wednesday, April 11, following armed clashes between local militias on one side and UN peacekeepers and the national army on the other, the day prior.  One peacekeeper was killed in Tuesday’s clashes and eight others injured, along with at least 50 local residents. The streets of the capital were reportedly empty on Tuesday, with shops closed.

The violence erupted as the head of the UN peacekeeping operations department and the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security arrived in Bangui for a joint visit.

Context

Bangui has been regularly affected by deadly clashes between the Christian Anti-Balaka group and ex-Seleka Muslim militias, particularly in the Muslim-majority PK5 district, which has long been a hotspot 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 the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA.

On April 8, unidentified gunmen attacked a MINUSCA base in Bangui; clashes between the gunmen and UN peacekeepers lasted several hours and resulted in two killed and 60 injured.

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.