Militia commits mass rape in Central African Republic

Some were totally in shock, others paralysed by fear or<br /> unable to talk about the incident.

ABIDJAN, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Militia fighters attacked, kidnapped and then raped en masse a large group of women in an isolated area of Central African Republic last month, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Thursday.

The medical charity treated 10 survivors of the 17th February
violence near Kiriwiri, a village in the country's northwest.

Fearing further attacks if they tried to reach a hospital, the
women were unable to seek medical treatment until about two
weeks later, it said. Many other victims remained behind, fearing that, as rape victims, they would be stigmatised in their community.

"Some were totally in shock, others paralysed by fear or
unable to talk about the incident. Some of the women had open
wounds caused by blades," said Soulemane Amoin, a midwife at the
hospital in the town of Bossangoa where the women were treated.

"It was terrible to see. It broke my heart." Central African Republic descended into chaos after mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in 2013, provoking a spate of killing by Christian anti-balaka militias. Despite the deployment of UN peacekeepers, rival armed groups still stalk much of the countryside.

The rapes near Kiriwiri coincided with a surge in violence in Bossangoa and the surrounding areas. In its statement, MSF said the women had left their village to fetch water and tend to their fields when the militiamen arrived.

Some women fled, but others were grabbed and brought
back to the militia's base where they were repeatedly raped
before being let go, it said. MSF did not identify the group behind the assault.

"This attack is one of the consequences of the new wave of
senseless violence that broke out at the end of 2016 and
continues without let-up," said Paul Brockmann, who heads MSF's
mission in Central African Republic.

The hospital at Bossangoa has treated 56 rape victims since
September, up from 13 in the previous eight months, MSF said.

It has also treated around 300 victims of rape and sexual
assault from around the country each month so far this year at
its main hospital in the capital, Bangui.