The UN refugee agency has expressed extreme concern over reports of Christian militiamen in the Central African Republic (CAR) attacking civilians fleeing the violence.


The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson, Melissa Fleming, said Friday that the agency has registered four wounded refugees in Cameroon in recent days, one with a gunshot in the chest and three of them seriously hacked with machetes.

Reports indicated the anti-Balaka groups were blocking main roads and attacking civilians trying to flee the violence in the CAR, forcing them to take more dangerous alternative routes across the border.

This is while UN officials said Thursday that nearly 15,000 Muslim residents have reportedly been besieged in the CAR’s capital of Bangui by Christian militia amid their persisting trail of killing and looting of more Muslims.

The government has acknowledged that it can do little to protect Muslims still in danger, with many questioning whether international troops could fight off a separatist attempt by armed groups.

The CAR has been experiencing deadly unrest since December last year, when Christian militia launched coordinated attacks against the mostly Muslim Seleka group that toppled the government in March 2013.