Conflict in the Central African republic - Essay Example

Conflict in the Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) has experienced the problems of war, rebellions, looting of assets, and military coups for decades which have led the country to a deep economic crisis. The number of people internally displaced is estimated to exceed 400,000 and almost 65,000 people have moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon which has brought the Central African refugees’ number near 220,000 (“2014 UNHCR country”). Several incidents have occurred in 2013 including the abrupt overthrow of the government, State institutions’ collapse, sectarian brutality, and a descent into lawlessness. The number of people that need humanitarian assistance on immediate basis exceeds 2.5 million (“United Nations”). Innocent civilians are losing their lives in this conflict. Rather than being collateral damage as a result of rebel groups’ fighting, these civilians are being purposefully killed because of their religious or community associations and for their identities. While the ex-Seleka victimize Christians, people that are the most vulnerable are the Muslims. More than a million people in the country have been displaced and the homes of many of them have been burned to deter them from returning (“United Nations”). What is setting in is a de facto partition of the CAR between the Muslim and the Christian population. This separation is setting the stage for conflict that might continue for generations. Capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, has a long history of lack of reliability of its public utilities. But since December, the Red Cross has been rendering its services to collect human bodies intact or chopped up. There exists a divide of two neighborhoods in the Avenue de France. Most of the dead bodies belong to people who have strayed too far in the wrong direction. Foot traffic is not allowed on the road so people do not have to bury the dead bodies and instead leave them to rot in the sun. The neighborhood toward the north of the line is occupied almost exclusively by the Christians as a result of massive killing or exile of the Muslims from the region. Muslims that have continued to remain in the country primarily reside in the Third Arrondissement dad is located just on the south of the Avenue de France. In this region, being a Christian for an individual is just as risky as it is for an individual to be a Muslim in the South, West, East, or North. Almost 15 percent of the population of the Central Africa is Muslim and Muslims have lived in harmony with the Christians for most of the history of the country ranging over 54 years (Wood). However, the peace between the Muslims and the Christians has reached an end in the last year originally as a spam of the political violence and subsequently as a result of the religious slaughter. The size of this country is roughly equal to Texas and the economy of the country is even lesser than one tenth of Chattanoogas size. Although the number of people that have been killed cannot be stated with certainty, yet the killings on the streets have become so frequent and common that many are now not even reported. Population of the CAR has been in a state of trauma because of witnessing the fighting over the last year. Arguments between people over petty matters can evolve into lethal fights before anyone can even sense the risk. A neighborhood called Boy Rabe is governed by the Christian militia that are presently feared the most in Bangui. It derives its name from the ritual initiations of the young fighters "which supposedly confer resistance to AK-47 rounds (in French, balles-AK, or “ah-kah”) and machetes (balaka in Sango, the national language of CAR)" (Wood). The Anti-Balaka originated in the forces of self-defense over the countryside as well as from the population of the Christians in Bangui. Now, since the Christians have gained advantage over the Muslims in the region, the Christians demand the frightened citizens to pay them. Muslims are assassinated by the Anti-Balaka. When the Rwandans arrive, they find the French bloodshedding. “The Anti-Balaka are next to [the French] with their machetes and guns, and we can’t do anything...This is a big problem. The different contingents have different rules [of engagement]. The people know that, and they use it to their advantage.” (Migabo cited in Wood). The forces have reached dysfunction of such a high level that the A.U. commanders have to sometimes convene the senior A.U. officers in places other than their headquarters with switched off cellphones in their attempt to deter the French from showing up or interfering in their plans. The situation is complicated and differs from one city to another, though thousands of people in different towns remain trapped in the religious places and in isolated neighborhoods like Boda and Bangui. Many people have fled across the border or to different parts of the country. The life and property of the civilians are at risk irrespective of whether they stay or leave. Millions of people are living in a state of extreme fear in deprivation from adequate food and medical supplies. The way conflict in the CAR between the Muslims and the Christians is portrayed in the media distracts the audience from the economic and political instability in the country that has been the cause of overthrow of the government in the year 2013 as well as the protracted violence. The conflict had not originally commenced as a religious war and according to many religious leaders, is not grounded in the differences of theology (Wallis). Political and economic instability is a major cause of conflict in the CAR. The country has no more than 20 registered businesses and normal schooling is very limited (Wallis). A lot of young children have been hired to join the Seleka which is a loose alliance of the rebels, bandits, and fighters, many of which are from the Muslim countries outside the CAR (Wallis). The job of army that these young children were promised were never granted. In retaliation, many of these young men joined the largely Christian groups as a result of lack of employment. A detailed insight into the last three decades in the history of the CAR reveals that politicization of ethnicity rather than religion has been a prominent trend in the country. This is evident from the fact that Andre Kolingba, the former president of the CAR rewarded the Yakoma, which was his ethnic group explicitly (Burchard). Ange-Felix Patasse, his successor, in turn rewarded his own supporters from Sara-Kaba and the northwest with patronage and government positions, thus dismissing the Yakoma. In addition to them, Bozize who deposed Patasse overtly preferred the Gbaya (Burchard). Any measure seems to be recommendable for the conflict in CAR, even if it is very strange or impracticable in the normal circumstances, as long as it does not impart the need for a genocide. The conflict can be frozen into a stare-down by the international community, which as a solution would be bloodless and precarious. Another recommendable measure for the Muslims can be to either migrate to the areas that have a majority of Muslims or flee to other countries. In fact, many Muslims are on search of safe passage to the Cameroonian and Chadian borders. In the period between 25 March 2014 and 27 April 2014, the ICRC has executed 380 operations on the people wounded during the fights in the Bangui Community Hospital (Central African Republic"). Several foreign armed groups are working in different regions of the CAR. France and the African Union have deployed their troops in the CAR to control the violence. In spite of the highly precarious situation in the country, CAR has a positive stance on asylum and the refugees live together with the indigenous population. However, considering the geographic vastness and the scale at which violence is happening in the CAR, it can be concluded that the security requirements are much more than the international troops’ capabilities that have been deployed in the country to control the violence resulting from the conflict. Research on the conflict in the CAR leads to the conclusion that while on the surface, the conflict is between the Muslims and the Christians and the differences are grounded in religion, there exist greater differences and graver issues beneath the surface. The political and economic instability of the country is a major factor that has made the circumstances conducive for war between people on the basis of religious and ethnic associations. Conflict in the CAR has caused the assassination of thousands of people and has caused many to flee from their homes in an attempt to have a secure place to live. Conflict in the CAR is one of the biggest threats to the security and peace of mankind in the present age and needs immediate and serious attention from the international community so that the conflict can be resolved with the least damage to life and property of the innocent civilians of the CAR. Works Cited: Burchard, Stephanie. “The Central African Conflict is about Far More than Religion.” The African Press. 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 May 2014. . “Central African Republic: Conflict taking heavy toll.” ICRC. 2 May 2014. Web. 21 May 2014. . “United Nations: Security Council.” 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 May 2014. . Wallis, Jim. “Don’t Blame The Central African Republic Conflict On Religion.” TIME. 9 April 2014. Web. 24 May 2014. . Wood, Graeme. "Hell Is an Understatement A report from the bloody, crumbling Central African Republic." 2014. Web. 24 May 2014. . “2014 UNHCR country operations profile - Central African Republic.” UNHCR. 2014. Web. 21 May 2014. . Read More