According to America Magazine reporting on 17 November 2018, suspected former Seleka militants
attacked the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Alindao and the adjoining compound sheltering more than 20,000 non-Muslim IDPs on 15 November. The bishop and church staff were among the dead. A nearby Mauritanian UN peacekeeping force did not intervene. It is believed that the brutal attack was retaliation for killings carried out by Anti-Balaka militants shortly before. In an official
statement issued on 17 November 2018, the UN Secretary General warned that such attacks on defenseless churches and IDP camps may constitute war crimes.
Yonas Dembele, persecution analyst at World Watch Research (WWR), comments: "This attack took place 300km east of Bangui and is believed to have been carried out by primarily Muslim Seleka rebels belonging to the Unitĩ pour la Paix en Centrafrique (UPC), a militia commanded by General Ali Darassa, a leader of the Peul ethnic group. The Peul (also known as Fulani) are primarily Muslim pastoralists who have long been in conflict with Christian villagers in CAR. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Bangousion, whose diocese is in the same region as Alindao, expressed his view of the
background to his colleague"s murder in an interview published by Agentia Fides on 19 November 2018:
"˜Groups like the UPC are made up of foreign mercenaries who have occupied parts of our territory for 5 years. They are paid by some Gulf countries and led by some neighboring African states. They enter Chad through Birao with weapons sold to Saudi Arabia from the United States. They want to divide Central Africa by fueling hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims. In this way they take advantage to plunder the riches of Central Africa, gold, diamonds and cattle. But above all, some foreign and non-African countries want to use Central Africa as a gateway to enter the Democratic Republic of Congo and the rest of the continent, manipulating radical Islam."
WWR has not verified the Catholic bishop"s claims regarding the composition of the group behind the attack on Alindao and how they obtained their weapons. However, it can be said that Christians continue to be the victims of sophisticated and organized attacks perpetrated by well-armed and well-trained groups."
