MISCA makes a gesture of solidarity towards the Muslim community in the Central African Republic on the occasion of the Aïd Al-Fitr

By African Union Commission (AUC)
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BANGUI, Central African Republic, July 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- On the occasion of the Aïd al-Fitr, the African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA) offered sheep to the Bangui Muslim community. The ceremony took place at the Bangui Central Mosque in the presence of several religious dignitaries.

Speaking on this occasion on behalf of General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission and Head of MISCA, the Mission's Senior Political Adviser stressed the importance and urgency of consolidating the progress made in the search for a lasting solution to the crisis facing the CAR. In this regard, he urged all the CAR communities and stakeholders to seize the occasion of the feast marking the end of the blessed month of Ramadan to redouble their efforts in order to overcome, once and for all, the multidimensional challenges confronting the CAR and to open up a brighter chapter in their country's troubled history.

On his part, the representative of the Imam of the Central Mosque, in the presence of the other Imams of the KM5 neighborhood, thanked the AU for this "gesture, which comes from the heart and which is a testimony to the attention that the international community, especially the AU, pay to the plight of religious minorities and places of worship". He also took the opportunity to commend the "professionalism of the soldiers of the Burundian contingent of MISCA, which protects the Central Mosque and the KM5 neighborhood ".

It should be noted that the Bangui Central Mosque is host to approximately 5,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). These IDPs fled the massive violence that affected the CAR over the past few months.