CAR: armed group executes 32 people

An armed group executed at least 32 civilians and captured fighters in the lawless heart of Central African Republic in December, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
“In the town of Bakala, rebels from the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC) on Dec. 12, executed 25 people after calling them to a school for an alleged meeting,” the global watchdog body reported.
“Earlier that day, UPC fighters executed seven men who were returning from a nearby gold mine. Accounts of the incidents were provided by a survivor and eight witnesses, including five men who were forced to help dispose of the bodies,” the statement added.
Military intervention in the CAR by France and a UN force, MINUSCA, has brought an end to large-scale massacres, restored relative calm to the capital Bangui and enabled the election of President Faustin-Archange Toudera, who took office in March 2016.
But tracts of the country remain under the sway of armed movements that maintain general insecurity. Depending on their interests — control of gold and other mines, cattle rustling and highway robbery — these groups form shifting alliances, which can even see ex-Seleka forces linking up with anti-balaka fighters.