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Attack in CAR leaves 12 dead, 30 injured: UN

04 December 2013 01:51 (UTC +04:00)

Unidentified gunmen targeted the town of Boali northwest of the CAR capital Bangui, said the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the CAR, BINUCA, on Tuesday.

BINUCA did not elaborate on who was behind the attack but it warned of tensions leading to "a climate of increasing violence" in the country.

The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bangui, Amy Martin, said the attack took place on Monday and that militias known as "anti-balaka" seemed to have targeted herders of the ethnic group Peul (Fula).

"It looks much more organized just than community defense groups," Martin said, referring to the gunmen launching the attack.

Prospere Ndouba, an adviser to CAR President Michel Djotodia, said anti-Seleka youth backed by supporters of ousted President Francois Bozizé were behind the Boali attack.

On Thursday, the members of the UN Security Council will vote on deploying French troops to the country.

On September 13, Djotodia dissolved the Seleka rebel coalition, which had brought him to power. Some of the rebels later joined the country’s regular army while some defied.

The Seleka rebels, who launched an offensive against the CAR government in December 2012 and finally ousted then Bozizé in March, have been accused of killing, looting, and raping across the country.

On November 26, the UN called for urgent action to stop the country from descending into complete chaos.

"The CAR is becoming a breeding ground for extremists and armed groups in a region that is already suffering from conflict and instability," said UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson.

There are many mineral resources, including gold and diamond, in the Central African Republic. However, the country is extremely poor and has faced a series of rebellions and coups since it gained independence in 1960.