WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Inter-religious conflict in the Central African Republic is creating tensions that may be spiraling out of control, a U.S. State Department official testified.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee heard testimony Tuesday about simmering conflict in CAR, one of the world's poorest nations. The country has experienced few periods of peace since it gained independence from France in 1960. Seleka, a Muslim rebel coalition, toppled the government March and the country is on the verge of collapse, its interim government says.
Robert Jackson, U.S. assistant secretary of state at the bureau of African affairs, testified that the U.S. government was "deeply" concerned by the crisis.
"Seleka abuses ... have given rise to primarily Christian self-defense groups that have sought to kill both Seleka fighters and CAR Muslims, creating a dangerous dynamic of inter-religious hatred and tension that risks spiraling out of control," he said.
CAR Bishop Nestor-Desire Nongo Aziagbia testified that more than 1 million people, about 20 percent of the population, need food assistance. Seleka, he said, is suspected of mass killings and rape.
Jackson said the State Department backs a draft resolution tabled by France at the U.N. Security Council in October that calls for an African Union-led support mission for CAR.
