Fears of a deadly religious conflict in the Central African Republic have prompted a UN Security Council vote tomorrow to dispatch a peace keeping force to restore order in the beleaguered country. Named “the worst crisis nobody has ever heard of” by the United States Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, news agencies across the globe are reporting thousands dead at the hands of militia, and calling it a country “on the verge of genocide”.

Credit: EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection_Flickr

The Central African Republic, labeled by The Washington Post as “one of the poorest places on Earth” has a population of about 4.6 million, and is majority Christian. The already unstable country was plunged into chaos earlier this year when an Islamist rebel alliance of warlords known as ‘Seleka’ ousted the sitting President.

According to a World Watch Monitor report, the Islamist group recruited mercenaries from Chad and Sudan in their effort to capture the CAR capital, Bengui. Former President Francois Bozize has fled the country and rebel leader Michel Djotodia was sworn in as President in September. That same month, the BBC reported that President Djotodia had dissolved the Seleka, but violence has continued and reports of rapes, killings and torture continue to emerge.

Christian militias have formed to counter the Seleka violence, with fears now that sectarian violence will escalate. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has previously expressed alarm about increasing retaliatory attacks between Muslim and Christian groups. However President Djotodia denies his country his on the brink of “all-out inter-religious war”.

An estimated 460,000 people have been displaced by the violence, with The Guardian suggesting many are hiding in the jungle, with no access to malaria or HIV treatment. Reuters UK said on Sunday that 40,000 Christians from Bossangoa in the north had fled their homes and thousands were seeking refuge in their churches. BBC’s Africa correspondent Andrew Harding, says while most seeking safety in Bossangoa are Christians, there are many Muslims taking refuge in the local Mosque. “Religious divisions deepening” he tweeted today.

“Just spent 2 days driving on dirt roads in Central African Republic. Endless abandoned villages. Thousands of families hiding in bushes,” read another tweet from Harding.

The United Nations voiced its concerns again today after news of the latest violence that left at least 12 people dead and 30 wounded, including children.

“The CAR is becoming a breeding ground for extremists and armed groups in a region that is already suffering from conflict and instability,” warned UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, speaking at the Security Council last week.  “If this situation is left to fester, it may degenerate into a religious and ethnic conflict with longstanding consequences, a relentless civil war that could easily spill-over into neighbouring countries.”

Images used under Creative Commons Licence. Featured image from DFID, UK Department for International Development, Flickr.