IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Muslim Decapitated, Corpse Burned in Central African Republic Unrest

An angry crowd killed a Muslim man in Central African Republic, decapitating and burning his corpse, witnesses said.
United Nations peacekeepers are seen stationed in the center of the Central African Republic capital Bangui, on October 8, 2014, following fresh violence that rocked the country leaving up to five people dead and several others wounded. The violence was sparked by an incident the day before when a motorcyclist threw grenades injuring several pedestrians in the capital, an officer from the UN peacekeeping MINUSCA force said. Further violence erupted in Bangui's KM5 district when a taxi driver was killed by Muslims who then torched several homes. Separately a group of Muslims tried to advance on the capital's northern districts but were arrested by European peacekeepers. The unrest has pitted different groups -- split along religious, ethnic and tribal lines -- against each other.
United Nations peacekeepers are seen stationed in the center of the Central African Republic capital Bangui, on October 8, 2014, following fresh violence that rocked the country leaving up to five people dead and several others wounded. The violence was sparked by an incident the day before when a motorcyclist threw grenades injuring several pedestrians in the capital, an officer from the UN peacekeeping MINUSCA force said. Further violence erupted in Bangui's KM5 district when a taxi driver was killed by Muslims who then torched several homes. Separately a group of Muslims tried to advance on the capital's northern districts but were arrested by European peacekeepers. The unrest has pitted different groups -- split along religious, ethnic and tribal lines -- against each other. PACOME PABAMDJI / AFP - Getty Images

BANGUI - An angry crowd killed a Muslim man in the capital of Central African Republic overnight, decapitating and burning his corpse, and in revenge Muslims killed a taxi driver, witnesses said Wednesday. The incident brings to seven the number killed in the latest inter-communal attacks that began on Sept. 29 despite the presence of U.N. peacekeepers.

The Muslim man was chased by Christian 'anti-balaka' militiamen in the northern suburb of Gobongo because he was suspected of having thrown a grenade from a bus into a market, injuring several, the witnesses said. Red Cross officials returned the corpse to a Muslim neighborhood for burial. The revenge killing was of a taxi driver, said Ousmane Abakar, a spokesman for Muslims in the city. "It was in retaliation for the (initial) act that was committed," Abakar said.

The former French colony has been gripped by violence since Michel Djotodia led Seleka, a coalition of mostly Muslim rebels and some fighters from neighboring Chad and Sudan, in an assault on the capital Bangui, seizing power in March 2013. Most Muslims have fled the south of the country, creating a de facto partition.

- Reuters