A violent couple of hours interrupts once again the day in the Muslim ghetto of Pk5, a neighborhood of Bangui. Once known as the economic lungs of CAR’s capital city, Pk5 became a segregated religious enclave where Muslims withdrew to find safety from their Christian neighbors after repeated clashes between the two communities tore through CAR’s social fabric.

Pervasive insecurity encouraged civilians to develop self-protective measures in the face of little or failing state presence across the country. Youths coalesced into auto-defense networks to protect their neighborhood against other armed groups. These measures have grown into parasitic relationships between communities and armed groups who simultaneously provide security for and prey on civilians. 

Remnants of the 2013 crisis, gangs inside Pk5 forge and undo alliances based on the opportunity of the moment. Clashes can degenerate quickly into violent in-fighting. So on October 2nd, when 2 gang members began fighting over money, within a matter of hours 4 armed groups had exchanged fire and 6 people were dead. Local Imans, notaries and traditional authorities intervened immediatly to calm things down and provide space for the families to bury the deceased. What follows the funerals is a cycle of street justice where deaths are avenged. 

Instead, the ComZones of one of the armed groups at the center of the altercation seized CIT's mediation surge team to help mediate the conflict, fearing an escalation of the violence.

Within 24 hours of a bloody battle, CIT was able to respond to a highly volatile incident and begin meeting with victims and perpetrators alike to repair the harm that was done.

CIT began working in Pk5 after the neighborhood was deeming inaccessible to CAR's security forces, following a botched military operation in April 2018. The dialogue never occurred but CIT's listening tour contributed to appeasing enough minds to deescalate tensions. With deep access into the Muslim community, CIT's mediators were able to leverage their relationships to prevent further violence and avoid a series of revenge killings.

Photo: armed group leader (in the front) with a member of CIT's group of community mediators (in the back). Getty Images (April 2018).

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Communities in Transition (CIT) deploys mediation surge teams (MST) to prevent the escalation of violent conflicts. MST are composed of skilled local conflict resolution practitioners who lead, as impartial third-parties, confidential dialogue processes that empower self-determined parties in conflict to develop solutions that meet everyone’s needs.