BANGASSOU, FEBRUARY 12, 2016 (CISA) – Msgr. Juan Jose Aguirre, bishop of Bangassou Diocese in south east of Central African Republic, has expressed disappointment at the silence on violence in his diocese.
“Since the beginning of 2016, my diocese has been under constant attack from LRA [Lord’s Resistance Army] and nobody talks about it,” said the Bishop.
“What hurts me most is that nothing is said about what happens in Bangassou, but we report the news such as the arrest of one of the LRA leaders, Okot Odek,” the bishop said.
“Last week, LRA abducted and beat the residents of Niakari,’said Bishop Juan. A few days later, while in the company of two nuns and seminarians from Bakouma where a local mission had been ransacked by the LRA group, the nuns and the seminarians had to be at the mercy of some fifteen armed men for over two hours,” said Msgr. Aguirre.
The diocese houses displaced people who fled from Niakari area where the diocese has a place of pilgrimage. LRA, a militia group that originated from Uganda is allegedly working in coalition with Seleka Bandits to terrorize the residents of Bangassou diocese.
The LRA has been at the forefront of terror schemes since 1980’s. The group specializes in raiding villages and Kidnapping children. This is not only rampant in CAR, but also in Uganda, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.
