Rebels kill pastor, destroy two churches in revenge attacks in Central African Republic

A pastor was killed and at least two churches in the Central African Republic (CAR) were destroyed after Muslim rebels launched an attack in retaliation for military operations carried out against them by the CAR military and U.N. peacekeepers.

The U.N. peacekeepers and CAR forces launched the military operations in CAR's capital of Bangui last week with the aim of capturing and interrogating local militia leader Youssouf Malinga, also known as Big Man.

"During the operation, Youssouf Malinga — also known as Big Man — and his men opened fire on the security forces and killed two passers-by, a man and a woman," said Vladimir Monteiro, the spokesman of the UN mission MINUSCA.

"The security forces responded, killing Youssouf Malinga and one of his men. Three Central African security forces troops were also injured," he added.

The fighting centered on Bangui's PK5 neighborhood, which is a hotspot for tensions between Muslim and Christian fighters.

In retaliation, Malinga's followers burned down two churches and killed a local pastor. A local peace activist identified the victim as Jean-Paul Sankagui, who was a former government adviser.

"Jean-Paul Sankagui, pastor of my church in PK5, was killed and the church was torched," Lazare Ndjadder told AFP.

A family member said that the pastor was stabbed to death as he was urging worshippers to leave.

"It is unfortunate that the civilian population were the victims of these criminals' indiscriminate fire," said Monteiro.

"MINUSCA calls on the population to keep the peace and to avoid any action that might worsen inter-communal tensions," he went on to say.

Militia members also stormed a health center in Bangui with the aim of killing the injured, the Associated Press reported. Dr. Michel Yao, the acting U.N. humanitarian coordinator in CAR, said that more than two dozen wounded were brought to a local health facility.

Weeks before the attack, a tent that was used as a temporary place of worship by the Baptist Union of Churches' Gbaya Dombia congregation was also torched. The tent itself was erected after the church's previous building was burned down in 2014.

The Central African Republic erupted into violence in 2013 when former President Francois Bozize, a Christian, was overthrown by Muslim rebels from the Seleka militia. The backlash against Muslim civilians in Bangui caused them to flee to the north or to neighboring Chad and Cameroon.