Muslims flee Central African Republic's capital
The aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, said Friday that tens of thousands of Muslims have now fled to Chad and Cameroon. The U.N. refugee agency said that almost 9,000 people have fled to Cameroon in the last 10 days, bringing the number of refugees in Cameroon to 22,000 since current began.
"It really is a horrific situation. All over Bangui, entire Muslim neighborhoods are being destroyed and emptied," said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director for Human Rights Watch, who has gotten trapped Muslims to safety under the guard of peacekeepers.
"Their buildings are being destroyed and being taken apart, brick by brick, roof by roof, to wipe out any sign of their once existence in this country," he added. Hundreds sought refuge at a mosque in Bangui's predominantly Muslim PK5 neighborhood.
But the dangers are not limited to the capital. Entire communities remain trapped in parts of northwest Central African Republic, according to the Medecins Sans Frontieres statement. A Muslim community of more than 8,000 people in Bouar "remains effectively imprisoned, unable to flee the violence."
"We are concerned about the fate of these communities trapped in their villages, surrounded by anti-Balaka groups, and also about the fact that many Muslim families are being forced into exile to survive," said Martine Flokstra, MSF emergency coordinator.
my heart bleds for them, but where is the global concern for Coptic's in Egypt