[RwandaLibre] U.S. Urges End to Central Africa Clashes as Mass Grave Found

U.S. Urges End to Central Africa Clashes as Mass Grave Found



Bloomberg - 17 hours ago

Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg



UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is "appalled" by the continuing

violence, according to...

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U.S. Secretary of State

John Kerry called for an immediate end to violence in the

Central African Republic

, where clashes this week left "dozens" of people dead including six

African Union peace-keepers.



A mass grave containing at least 20 bodies was discovered yesterday in

the capital, Bangui, Kerry said in a statement e-mailed by the State

Department today. The bodies of 44 people were found in the streets of

the city yesterday after clashes on Dec. 24 and Dec. 25, Romaric

Bekourou, a spokesman for the Red Cross, said by phone. Sixty people

were injured, he said.



"The U.S. calls on the CAR transitional authorities to immediately end

the violence, end the use of torture, and investigate and prosecute

all those implicated in grave human-rights abuses," Kerry said.



Central African Republic has descended into lawlessness since March,

when an alliance of rebel groups known as Seleka overthrew former

President Francois Bozize. At least 1,000 people have died in the

conflict, according to Amnesty International. The violence has forced

710,000 people to flee their homes and another 75,000 have gone into

exile, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.



Central African Republic is the world's 12th-biggest producer of rough

diamonds by volume, according to the



U.S. Geological Survey



. The gems, along with timber exports, are the largest source of

foreign exchange for the $3.6 billion economy. The country also

produces oil and has deposits of uranium, the USGS says on its

website.



Palace Attacked



Suspected self defense militias, known as anti-Balakas, attacked the

presidential palace in Bangui last night, Guy Simplice Kodegue,

spokesman for President Michel Djotodia, said in a phone interview.

Gunfire erupted at about 9 p.m. local time and continued for about 30

minutes, he said.



"Fierce fighting took place around the palace, but the attackers were

repelled by the presidential guard," Kodegue said. "All is quiet at

the moment."



An African Union-led International Support Mission to the Central

African Republic, known as Misca, is deploying 3,600 multinational

troops in the country, while



France, the nation's former colonial ruler, has sent 1,600 soldiers to

help stabilize the country.



Unidentified gunmen attacked a Chadian contingent of Misca who were on

patrol on Christmas Day, killing six of them and wounding five more,

the



African Union said in a statement on its website.



The discovery of the mass grave yesterday comes after 30 bodies were

found behind Bangui's main water complex on Dec. 24. State Prosecutor

Ghislain Gresenguet announced on national radio yesterday that an

investigation has been opened into the deaths.



UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is "appalled" by the continuing

violence, according to a statement e-mailed by his spokesman today. A

UN national staff member was killed in the country on Dec. 24, he

said, without providing further details.



To contact the reporter on this story: Crispin Dembassa Kette in Bangui at:

cdembassa@bloomberg.net



To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at

asguazzin@bloomberg.net



http://www.google.ca/gwt/x?gl=CA&hl=en-CA&u=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-27/u-s-demands-end-to-central-african-violence-as-mass-grave-found.html&q=central+africa+violence+us+kerry





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