The Central African Republic: Anti-Muslim Pogroms in Silence

The Context

The Central African Republic (CAR) descended into conflict in 2013 following a coup by the Seleka, a predominantly Muslim rebel coalition. The Seleka's abuses against the civilian population created a backlash that gave rise to the anti-Balaka (predominantly Christian militias whose name means "anti-machete" or "anti-bullet") who began targeting Muslim communities.

The Campaign

From late 2013 through 2014, anti-Balaka militias conducted systematic attacks on Muslim communities across the country:

• Mosques were burned and destroyed
• Muslim neighbourhoods in Bangui, the capital, were attacked and their inhabitants killed or expelled
• The Muslim population of Bangui (estimated at approximately 15% of the city's population before the conflict) was reduced to near zero through killing and flight
• Muslims in the provinces were subjected to massacre, the destruction of their communities, and forced expulsion

Human Rights Watch documented the systematic nature of the campaign, the targeting of Muslim civilians specifically on the basis of their religion, the destruction of mosques, and the killing of those who could not flee.

The International Response

A French military intervention (Operation Sangaris) and a UN peacekeeping mission were deployed but proved inadequate to protect Muslim communities during the most intense period of violence.

The conflict in CAR received minimal international media coverage relative to its scale. The systematic targeting of a religious minority (Muslims) by Christian militias did not produce the international response that comparable violence against Christian minorities by Muslim groups would likely have generated.

The Ongoing Situation

The CAR conflict has continued in various forms, with both Seleka-affiliated groups and anti-Balaka militias committing atrocities. The Muslim communities that were expelled from Bangui and other cities have not returned. The destruction of Muslim community life in large parts of the country represents a permanent demographic change driven by religious violence.