Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bangassou (Agenzia Fides) - Four Central African dioceses which were attacked and robbed by a group of radical Islamist of the coalition Séléka, from Chad and Sudan, will benefit from an urgent aid campaign promoted by the humanitarian organization Aid to the Church in Need. The rebels, in this region, looted 50% of the assets of the Church. In a statement Msgr. Juan José Aguirre, a Spanish missionary and bishop of Bangassou, one of the affected regions, reported that the population is experiencing widespread and systematic attacks by criminal groups that use violence as a language and weapon of war. About 400 people have been killed. "People run away anywhere, trampled, young 20-year-old girls raped by soldiers that enter homes in search of weapons", says Msgr. Aguirre. "As far as theft is concerned the rebels were looking for cars and motorcycles that missionaries use in the diocese, to turn them into weapons of war.
They stole everything they could and then sold, refrigerators, television sets, blankets". The allocated aid will be used to rebuild everything that was destroyed, from educational centers to pediatric services, the purchase of medical supplies, food, and transportation. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 30/07/2013)
