Thousands of Muslims stuck in C. African Republic

Some 4,000 Muslims are stuck in a town in the Central African Republic (CAR) after months of being targeted by Christian militia.

The Muslim mayor of the Boda town located 160 kilometers southwest of capital Bangui says Christian militia have told him that all Muslims should leave the town or they will be killed.

“For generations, our families lived together and even intermarried. Now you want to kill us all?” Boda’s mayor said on Saturday.

There are some 4,000 Muslims residing in Boda and its surroundings.

According to UN figures, about 15,000 Muslims still remain blockaded “in an extremely dangerous and untenable situation” such as in Boda. Some 300,000 others have managed to escape the violence.

Rights groups and international bodies have expressed serious concerns over the ongoing violence against Muslims in the war-ravaged African country.

“People are desperately wanting to leave because they’re in fear for their lives, and they haven’t been able to leave initially because they couldn’t afford it and now there’s no transport whatsoever,” media outlets quoted Joanne Mariner, a senior crisis adviser with Amnesty International.

The conflict in the CAR erupted after Christian militia also known as the anti-Balaka launched coordinated attacks on the mostly Muslim Seleka group, which toppled the government last March.

Christian militiamen, however, have been targeting the Muslim population as a whole.

French and African peacekeepers are on the ground, but they have been unable to stop the violence and even in some occasions have been accused of killing Muslims.

France currently has around 2,000 troops in the CAR, while the African Union has three times that number.