First aid in years lifts hope for cut-off towns in Central African Republic
Dakar, SenegalThomson Reuters Foundation Aid workers have negotiated with fighters to enter a remote part of Central African Republic for the first time in years, raising hope for other areas, the United Nations said on Tuesday. Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres was the first to reach the town of Mingala, in the southern Basse-Kotto prefecture, […]
Religious leaders hope CAR peace deal will end church, mosque attacks
Nairobi, KenyaRNS The government of the Central African Republic and 14 rebel groups signed a peace agreement on Wednesday, raising hope for an end to one of Africa’s bloody and complex conflicts. Religious leaders hope the latest peace deal will bring an end to attacks on churches and mosques. In this 9th December, 2013, file photo, […]
HOMELESSNESS: IN THE US, HOMELESS FIND REFUGE IN SAFE PARKING
CAREY L BIRON, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how non-profit organisations – and churches – are working to help people sleeping in their cars after numerous cities passed laws criminalising such behaviour…
Catholic bishops in Central African Republic call for day of “lamentation and prayer” on Sunday
Catholic Bishops in the Central African Republic have called for a “Day of Lamentation and of Prayer” to be held on 2nd December in memory of all the victims of violence in the nation. In a statement the bishops called for “all men and women of goodwill” to refrain from celebrating on 1st December – […]
More than 40 killed in attack on Catholic mission in CAR, say reports
More than 40 people were killed in a militia attack on a Catholic mission in the Central African Republic last week, it has emerged. The cathedral and surrounding buildings – which had been providing shelter for some 20,000 internally displaced people – as well as the bishop’s residence in the town of Alindao, about 300 […]
Thousands hiding in Central African Republic hospital risk attack, says MSF
Thomson Reuters Foundation Some 5,000 people seeking refuge in a hospital in Central African Republic are at risk of being attacked by armed groups, a medical charity said on Tuesday, amid ongoing clashes. About 10,000 people ran to the hospital in Batangafo, some 400 kilometres north of the capital Bangui, last week, after armed groups […]
Film shows art of survival in Central African Republic airport’s ‘tent city’
Yaounde, CameroonThomson Reuters Foundation Tens of thousands of people who fled murderous gangs and set up their own “tent city” inside Central African Republic’s main airport are the unlikely stars of an award-winning new film. Zone III – selected as the best short documentary at the African Film Festival in the United States in July and now […]
Attacks on aid workers rise in Central African Republic
Thomson Reuters Foundation Armed groups are increasingly attacking aid workers in Central African Republic, obstructing delivery of life-saving supplies to people caught in conflict, the United Nations said on Friday. The number of attacks in the country – one of the world’s most dangerous for humanitarian workers – has increased since April this year, said […]
Killings of Catholic priests in Africa raise fears that peacemakers are targets
Nairobi, KenyaRNS Following the recent killings of priests in the Central African Republic, Catholic officials worry that clergy are being targeted by armed groups for their peacemaking efforts. On 29th June, Firmin Gbagoua, vicar general of the Bambari Diocese, which covers much of the Central African Republic, was killed by a suspected Muslim rebel group. […]
Central African Republic in mourning again as another priest killed
World Watch Monitor The Catholic Church in the Central African Republic is again in shock after the killing of the vicar general of Bambari, in the centre of the country, on Friday night. Father Firmin Gbagoua, 52, was fatally wounded, when unidentified gunmen stormed the presbytery of St Joseph’s Cathedral of Bambari at around 7pm. […]