Islamists slaughter priest and Massgoers in church attack

Eighteen people were killed when Islamists stormed a Catholic church in the Central African Republic’s capital, Bangui.

The terrorists used grenades and automatic weapons in the attack on the Our Lady of Fátima Church on 28 May. A 76-year-old Catholic priest, Fr Paul-Emile Nzale, was among the dead.

Church sources say the atrocity was carried out by jihadists who have infiltrated the mainly Muslim coalition of rebel groups known as Seleka.

The attack came as a bishop warned that Seleka had seized the opportunity to regroup because the global focus had been on massacres by the Anti-Balaka Christian group against Muslim civilians.

“It is unfortunate the focus has been on abuses against the Muslim community, forgetting where the crisis started and all the non-Muslims being killed each day by Seleka,” said Nestor Desire Nongo-Aziagbia, the Bishop of Bossangoa.
“This is not the best way of going about solving this crisis,” he added.

“I think this is political propaganda to divide this country into two and annexing part of our country to Chad. We have to denounce such a plot.”