Central African Republic archbishop, imam call for UN peacekeepers

December 30, 2013 - A leading Catholic Archbishop and an imam in the Central African Republic have urgently called for United Nations peacekeepers as the nation is reeling under widespread violence. The joint appeal by Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga of Bangui and Imam Omar Kobine Layama, was published by the French daily, ‘Le Monde’, after the deployment of French and African peacekeepers in early December failed to halt violence. Attacks by Muslim Seleka rebels, who seized power in March, and Christian militias have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced an estimated 400,000 in Bangui this month. The charity group, Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF, or “Doctors Without Borders” ) said on Monday, more than 100,000 people are sheltering at a makeshift camp at Bangui airport, and they were receiving between 15 and 20 wounded a day at the site. (Source: Misna)