UN's Pillay: 'Terrifying' Hatred in the C.A.R.
by VOA News March 20, 2014
The United Nations' top human rights official says sectarian violence in the Central African Republic remains at a 'terrifying level,' and has prompted atrocities that include cannibalism.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay spoke at a news conference Thursday in Bangui, as she wrapped up a three-day visit to the country.
Pillay said the C.A.R. has 'become a country where people are not just killed' but are 'tortured, mutilated, burned and dismembered.'
She said U.N. investigators know of at least four instances in which the killers at the flesh of their victims.
The C.A.R. descended into chaos last year when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels toppled the president and went on a rampage of killing and looting.
In response, Christian and animist groups, known as anti-Balaka, have sprung up and gone on the offensive, forcing tens of thousands of Muslims to flee their homes.
The inter-communal violence has left thousands dead and prompted hundreds of thousands of people to flee for their lives.
Earlier this month, U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said less than one percent of Bangui's original Muslim population of more than 100,000 remained in the capital.
Pillay said she is 'deeply concerned' about what she called the international community's slow response to the C.A.R.'s crisis. She said humanitarian aid efforts are 'deplorably under-funded.'
She also urged foreign countries to respond quickly to U.N. chief's Ban Ki-moon's appeal for a fully-equipped force of 10,000 international peacekeepers and 2,000 police officers.
France currently has about 2,000 soldiers in the country, while an African Union force numbers about 6,000.
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