The man chosen to lead what he says is 51% of the population of the Central African Republic (CAR), its protestants, says that the conflict in the country has nothing to do with religion, it was reported in late January.
Nicolas Guerékoyamé-Gbangou, a guest lecturer at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), said that fighting between members of the disbanded Séléka rebel group and the anti-balaka (anti-machete) self-defence militias is not a battle between Muslims and Christians.
‘There is no Christian militia and there is no Muslim militia as well… This conflict is not religious at all,’ he said, explaining that the anti-balaka militias developed from local village self-defence groups originally formed against cattle rustlers and bandits. He added that around 90% of Séléka was comprised of foreign nationals from neighbouring Chad and Sudan. It has been widely reported in the media that the conflict has taken a clear religious tone, with the Séléka group referred to as an Islamist force bent on turning the country into an Islamic state, and the anti-balaka called a ‘Christian’ militia.
