Somewhat recovered, he agrees to tell us that happened on 8 May in Alindao, the city, with Bangassou and Bria, that has fallen into a new spiral of violence after in a repeat of the bloody war in 2013 and 2014 that ravaged the country.
It was 7am. I was entering the slaughterhouse where I work when I heard several shots. After perceiving that they hadn’t stopped after a short while, I left the meat there and fled to the house of a Banda Christian friend [Banda is the largest ethnic group on that side of the city].
They went door to door. I saw that first they told the women and children to leave, to flee into the forest, and then they came in for the men.
I thought I would take shelter there until the shots stopped, but soon the Muslims who supported the Fulani started knocking on the Bandas’ doors. They went door to door. I saw that first they told the women and children to leave, to flee into the forest, and then they came in for the men.
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Germaine was shot while fleeing the fighting in Seigneur (35 km from Alindao). She fears that her older daughter is dead, while her son was transferred to Bambari with shots in his leg. © Lali Cambra/MSF
When they arrived at the house where I was with several other men, they opened the door and two men started firing. I ducked down and a bullet grazed my head. The other people in the house were shot dead.
I know them all very well. When I was lying on the ground, protecting myself from the bullets, a man approached me, lifted my head up and slit my throat with a knife.
There were twelve attackers in total, but only two wore military clothes. I know them all very well. When I was lying on the ground, protecting myself from the bullets, a man approached me, lifted my head up and slit my throat with a knife. I thought I was dead, but it seems that he didn’t reach a part of my throat and I kept breathing.
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It’s the first time that the people in Alindao have resorted to look for protection in the Catholic Mission. Alindao was considered an example of social cohesion before the fighting started last month. © Lali Cambra/MSF
They left after the attack but came back later, continued shooting, and searched the pockets of the corpses, including mine. I pretended to be dead. I had lost a lot of blood. My eyes were closed, but when they left, I opened them and saw that they were setting the house on fire.
I pretended to be dead. I had lost a lot of blood. My eyes were closed, but when they left, I opened them and saw that they were setting the house on fire.
Then I managed to get up and fled to the forest, leaving the corpses of my friends in that house. I spent 48 hours in the forest with other people who had escaped until I was brave enough to try getting to the Catholic church in Alindao, where the refugee Christian population was. The International Red Cross arrived there to transport the most serious of us to the hospital of Bambari.
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One of the two wells in the Catholic Mission. Aid is getting slowly into Alindao. © Lali Cambra/MSF
Almost every member of my family fled in 2013 to Bria, Bangui or Bangassou. But my wife and my four small daughters are still in Alindao. I know that MINUSCA [United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic] arrived days after the attacks to protect the refugees in the Catholic church, but when I recover, I want to go back to Alindao to bring my family here to Bambari.
Alindao had not experienced this type of attacks since the 2014 crisis, yet nor is it much of a surprise. The situation had destabilised since the arrival of the Fulani due to the clashes with the Muslim authorities.
*Main picture : the catholic mission in Alindao is hosting 15 000 people who fled the between autodefense groups and the UPC in control of the city. © Lali Cambra/MSF
