A UN report released on Wednesday has uncovered a pattern of grave human rights violations committed by armed groups in southeast Central African Republic (CAR), targeting Muslim communities and Sudanese refugees.

Investigations by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) and the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MINUSCA, found evidence of summary executions, sexual violence and torture.

Other violations included cruel and degrading treatment, forced labour, and looting of homes and shops.

CAR has been plagued by decades of instability and communal violence along religious and ethnic lines. UN assessments suggest that one in five people are displaced internally or outside the country’s borders due to the conflict.

The fighting has also taken a terrible toll on vital infrastructure, including schools and hospitals.

The civil war in Sudan and tensions in southern Chad, have led to an influx of refugees, asylum seekers and returnees to already overwhelmed areas of CAR.

The report detailed two waves of attacks in the Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou prefectures, in October 2024 and January 2025, in which at least 24 people were killed, including victims who had been summarily executed.

The attacks were directed and coordinated by elements of Wagner Ti Azandé (WTA), an armed group with ties to the national army. WTA originally belonged to another armed group called Azandé Ani Kpi Gbé (Azanikpigbe), whose members were also involved in the attacks.

In early October, both groups attacked the towns of Dembia and Rafaï, in the Mbomou prefecture, mainly targeting the Fulani pastoral community and other Muslims, as well as a camp for Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers.

In Dembia, WTA and Azanikpigbe fighters publicly executed a 36-year-old Fulani man, “creating a climate of terror among the population”, according to the report, while seven other Fulani men were tied up and thrown alive into the Ouara River.

Attackers also carried out widespread sexual violence, with at least 24 victims, including 14 women and seven girls who were raped.

On January 21, a separate attack on a Fulani camp near Mboki, in Haut-Mbomou, left at least 12 dead.

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, underscored the need to bring perpetrators to justice.

“These horrible crimes must not go unpunished. Accountability is fundamental to ensuring such violations never happen again,” he said.

He, however, called for the ties between the WTA group and the national army to be clarified and for full transparency regarding the group’s actions and its lawfulness.

“If this is not possible, the group should be disarmed.”

According to the report, at least 14 WTA members were arrested in Mboki and Bangui after the attack on the Fulani camp near Mboki.

The report also highlighted the limited presence of State security forces in parts of the prefectures of Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou, fuelling the climate of impunity.

Valentine Rugwabiza, the head of MINUSCA, warned that despite continued efforts by the Government – with support from the Mission – the situation in the two regions remains deeply concerning.

“Failure to adequately respond to these crimes would undermine the hard-earned security gains and further erode social cohesion in areas where efforts have been made with communities to defuse tensions and promote peaceful coexistence,” she said

In response to the violence, MINUSCA has intensified efforts to protect civilians and support the restoration of State authority in the affected regions.

Since October 2024, the Mission has deployed forces to Dembia, setting up a temporary operational base. In January, it also advocated for more Central African armed forces (FACA) troops to reinforce security.

In addition, it facilitated a visit by the regional governor to Dembia in November, helping promote dialogue and reconciliation among the region’s communities.

The Central African Government has also taken steps to address the violence, including arresting some WTA members.

It has also announced plans to establish a Tribunal of Grande Instance in Zémio for affected communities to access justice and combat impunity. (NAN)