LONDON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The Central African Republic is awash with local and foreign militias that pose a grave threat to the civilian population, Amnesty International said.
Amnesty International, in a report on the situation in CAR, said the country is a "black hole" in terms of human rights.
"At least 14 armed groups are currently operating in the country yet the government has consistently shown itself to be incapable or unwilling to take action to protect its citizens," Godfrey Byaruhanga, Amnesty International's Central Africa researcher, said in a statement.
He said human rights violations and possible war crimes are committed in CAR with "appalling frequency." The African Union, he said, is called on to build a coalition aimed at protecting and promoting human rights in the CAR.
One of the armed groups, the Lord's Resistance Army, was accused in July by human rights officials with the United Nations of killing at least 26 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June. Another 21 people, including 10 children, were kidnapped.
LRA leader Joseph Kony is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges but remains at large.
U.S. President Barack Obama, in a letter to Congress last week, said he was sending 100 U.S. troops to help regional forces tackle elements of the LRA.
