On 18 January 2014 more than 100 people were killed by

Anti-balaka The Anti-balaka (''anti-machete'') is an alliance of militia groups based in the Central African Republic in the early 21st century said by ''the Guardian'' to be composed primarily of Christians, but also some Muslims. However, some church leade ...

militias in Bossemptélé in the Ouham-Pendé prefecture of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

Attack

On 17 January 2014

Séléka Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR was an alliance of rebel militia groups that subjugated the Central African Republic (CAR) on 24 March 2013. After its official dissolution in September 2013, the remaining rebel groups became known as Ex-Séléka. Sél� ...

fighters withdrew from Bossemptélé. With international forces largely absent, the next day Anti-balaka fighters attacked the city. The few armed

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

fighters who remained in the city tried to resist but were defeated. Anti-balaka then attacked Muslim civilians killing some of them. Some Muslims fled the city, while some took refuge at local

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mission. According to

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, more than 100 civilians were killed during this massacre, including a 70-year old

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

. Most victims were adult men, but also included women, children and elders. Two days later four Muslim women were killed by Anti-balaka fighters. Local religious officials tried to contact international forces to secure city for two weeks with no response.

Aftermath

On 1 March 2014, African peacekeepers evacuated 190 people from Bossemptélé, but 65 people were left behind including women, children and people with disabilities who were unable to climb onto the trucks. In April, French forces came to the town and Anti-balaka fighters dismantled their checkpoints and returned to local villages.

References

{{Reflist Massacres of the Central African Republic Civil War January 2014 crimes in Africa 2014 in the Central African Republic Massacres in 2014 Ouham-Pendé Massacres of Muslims 2014 mass shootings in Africa Mass stabbings in Africa Stabbing attacks in 2014