Central African Republic in Massacre against #Muslims

(RNS) Churches in Central African Republic are caring for thousands of Muslims who have been trapped in a cycle of revenge attacks, perpetrated by a pro-Christian militia.

Since December, Anti-Balaka militias have been emptying Muslim quarters and avenging earlier attacks by the Seleka, an Islamist militia. The Seleka rampaged through the country in early 2013, terrorizing Christians and ransacking churches, hospitals and shops.

Now that the Muslim president Michel Djotodia has stepped down, Seleka is being forced to withdraw from its strongholds, as the center of power shifts, amid a mass exodus and displacement of Muslims.

In Baoro, a town in the northwest, a Roman Catholic parish is caring for more than 2,000 Muslims who can’t flee. A group of Catholic sisters in the town of Bossemptele is sheltering more than 500 Muslims, providing food, water and medicine.

“Now is the time for [people] of good will to stand up and prove the strength and quality of their faith,” the Rev. Xavier Fagba, a priest in Baoro, told the BBC.

One reason Muslims are able to take shelter in churches is because the country’s religious leaders believe this is a nonreligious conflict, said the Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame-Gbango, president of the Alliance of Evangelical Churches in the Central African Republic.

“We have been traveling to the provinces telling people to understand this is not a religious conflict,” said Guerekonyame-Gbango. “This is contributing some tolerance, although many people, including Christians, have taken up arms. This is regrettable.”

 

Roman Catholic Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga of the Bangui Archdiocese has welcomed Imam Omar Kobine Layama, president of the country’s Islamic Community, to live with him in the church compound.

“I live alongside him and I ask Christians to do likewise,” Nzapalainga said in a statement Tuesday (Feb. 18) for Caritas, the international relief organization. “Love should be a characteristic of Christians. You can’t call yourself a Christian if you kill your brother. You can’t call yourself a Christian when you hunt him down.”

Last week, CAR interim President Catherine Samba-Panza said she was “going to war” with the Anti-Balaka, who she described as having replaced a “sense of their mission” with warfare and killings.

#Egypt Erupts

With the military and Muslim Brotherhood locked in a dramatic power struggle, photos of the turmoil gripping Cairo. 

Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square on July 3. 

Hundreds of Egyptian protesters gather in Tahrir Square on July 3. 

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A fire burns following clashes between anti-Morsy crowds and members of the Muslim Brotherhood on July 5, in Cairo.

Morsy supporters hold makeshift weapons and take part in a drill during a demonstration at the Rabaa al Adawiya Mosque in the suburb of Nasr City on July 2 in Cairo.

Officers of the Egyptian Republican Guard celebrate at the gates of the Republican Guard headquarters in the suburb of Nasr City on July 3 in Cairo. 

On July 5, protesters remain in Tahrir Square as a military helicopter flies overhead. 

People celebrate in Tahrir Square. A woman holds up a portrait of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. 

Soldiers of the Egyptian Republican Guard stand guard at the gates of Egypt's Presidential Palace in the suburb of Heliopolis on July 3 in Cairo, Egypt. 

A group tries to keep people away from the October 6 Bridge following clashes between anti-Morsy crowds and members of the Muslim Brotherhood on July 5, in Cairo. 

Thousands of Egyptian protesters gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square on July 3 as the military's deadline for Morsy to compromise with the opposition approaches.

Thousands continue to celebrate the ousting of President Mohamed Morsy in Tahrir Square on July 5.

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 Protesters opposed to ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy in Tahrir Square on July 6, carry posters representing those who were killed during the demonstrations. 

A day after supporters of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, who was ousted from office on July 3, rallied to protest his removal inciting nationwide violence, Egyptians dealt with the aftermath and spent Saturday tending to the wounded and burying the dead. Recent counts say that 36 people were reportedly killed and 1,400 others injured in the street fights that broke out on July 5 between pro- and anti-Morsy demonstrators.  

A group of Egyptian men carry the coffin of a victim killed in the fighting that broke out on Friday, during a funeral in the al-Manial neighborhood in Cairo on July 6.

A fire burns following clashes between anti-Morsy crowds and members of the Muslim Brotherhood on July 5, in Cairo.

Egyptian opposition protesters celebrate as night falls on Cairo. 

Egyptian protesters celebrate in Tahrir Square as the deadline given by the military to Morsy passes on July 3 in Cairo, Egypt. Tanks and soldiers moved toward the presidential palace and ringed the square where Morsy's supporters rallied.  

Egyptian protesters calling for the ouster of Morsy react as they watch his defiant speech on a screen in a street leading to the presidential palace early in Cairo on July 3. 

Egyptian opposition protesters continue to celebrate the ousting of President Mohamed Morsy in Tahrir Square on July 4. 

An Egyptian army helicopter flies over protesters calling for the ouster of Morsy in Tahrir Square on July 3.

Egyptian opposition in Cairo on July 3. 

A protester injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood outside Cairo University on July 3. 

An anti-Morsy protester is carried out of the fray after he was allegedly shot by Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Tahrir Square during fighting between the two camps on July 5, in Cairo. 

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A group tries to keep people away from the October 6 Bridge following clashes between anti-Morsy crowds and members of the Muslim Brotherhood on July 5, in Cairo. 

'Friday of Rage' called by Morsi's supporters in #Egypt #update

At least 30 people have been killed in violence across Egypt, after Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was removed from power by the army.

In Cairo, three hours of street fighting between hundreds of supporters and opponents rocked the capital.

The military deployed troops and armoured vehicles.

The 6th of October bridge, close to Tahrir Square, was at the heart of the clashes.

Pro and anti Mursi demonstrators threw stones, fireworks and other objects at each other.

Three people were reported dead, around 200 others injured.

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Into the night, anti-Mursi demonstrators remained in Tahrir Square  Mursi – Egypt’s first freely elected president – was toppled on Wednesday in what his supporters call a military coup.  His opponents say it was an intervention to impose the “people’s will.”

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#UPDATED: #Cairo University clashes intensify leaving 22 dead, at least 200 injured #egypt

Clashes escalated near Cairo University in the capital's Giza district late Tuesday night, where supporters of President Mohamed Morsi continue to demonstrate.

According to the latest health ministry statements, 22 people were killed and at least 200 injured.  

Those injured included a police officer – Satea El-Nomany – who was shot in the eye, according to Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website.  

Security forces have reportedly intervened in an effort to end the clashes.

According to eyewitnesses cited by Reuters, gunshots were heard in the area and police were seen firing tear gas.

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Pro-Morsi demonstrators began gathering outside Cairo University late Monday night in response to millions-strong opposition rallies demanding that Morsi step down.

Clashes erupted in the area hours before Morsi's Tuesday night televised address, in which he defied calls to step down, citing his democratic legitimacy. 

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The Ministry of Health 22 dead and 250 injured in Cairo University after a speech #morsi #egypt
— ▲Samy قائد (@samy_qaid) July 3, 2013