Central African Republic

On Feb. 13, 2025, Islamists abducted a Christian mother of five as she worked in her family’s cropland in Bocaranga, in the northwestern region of the Central African Republic. “That day I didn’t go to the garden. I stayed at home,” said her husband, Emil. “While she was in the garden, she was caught by them and kidnapped.” The kidnappers have called Emil and demanded an exorbitant ransom for her return. “I don’t have any solution, so I cry out to the Lord for help in this situation.

Xavia, 30, survived a brutal assault eight years ago. During a 2016 attack, rebels with a militant group set fire to numerous homes in her village. Her husband, mother, father and sisters were burned alive. Xavia was tied up and subjected to horrific torture, rendering her unable to have additional children. She doesn’t know how she survived the assault but only remembers waking up in an evacuation truck. She was sent to another country for surgery, but her emotional wounds need additional healing.

Christians have suffered greatly from civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2012. They are targeted and attacked by Muslim rebels who accuse them of assisting militias that have carried out revenge killings against Muslims. They have been driven from their towns and villages as attackers loot and destroy their homes and churches, forcing tens of thousands into emergency camps for Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs).

A vicious civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR), fought among multiple political factions, including some extremist Muslim groups, has forced more than half a million people to flee their homes. Many of the displaced are Christians who live in camps for Internally Displaced People (IDPs).

Christians have suffered greatly from ongoing civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR), where thousands have been forced from their homes. “These people are often the poorest of the poor,” said a front-line worker. “Entire villages have been destroyed, and people have had to flee with nothing. Some were digging up roots to have something to eat in order to survive.”

Francios Tawoura, a blind 58-year-old widower, said that when Islamists attacked his village, his inability to see prevented him from fleeing with his neighbors. The militants eventually found him and beat him, breaking two ribs.

Ipolite Kimono attended a VOM-sponsored training in 2021 to learn strategies for helping those who have experienced trauma. Rebels attacked Ipolite’s church in 2014 and assassinated his wife, two children, and brother along with many others.

Emmanuel Dounia lives in an IDP camp in the Central African Republic. He was driven from his home after Seleka rebels attacked his village, burning his home and sexually assaulting his wife in front of him. His sons were killed in cannon fire, and he was also tortured.