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Episode details

World Service,4 mins

Militias Surround 2000 Sheltering in C.A.R Seminary

Newsday

Available for over a year

Imagine what it would be like to be trapped in a compound and surrounded by armed militias in a country where shedding blood has become the norm. That's the plight faced by some 2000 Muslims displaced by violence in the Central African Republic. They've found temporary refuge in a Catholic seminary in a small town called Bangassou, where they've been sheltering since a wave of religious killings in May. This illustrates the new reality of the C.A.R, a country unable to break the cycle of violence, despite the signing of a peace agreement between the government and rebel groups. Deep divides remain between Muslim Seleka rebels, who seized power in 2013, and rival Christian militias known as 'Anti-Balaka'. Over the last five years, thousands have been killed and more than a million displaced . We hear from some of those trapped in the compound and then the BBC's Huong Ly speaks to the Bishop of Bangassou, Juan José Aguirre Munoz, who is sheltering them. (Photo: UN peacekeepers. The UN has had peacekeepers in the country since 2014 . Credit: AFP)

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