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{{The Christian extremists came in waves, first a small group, then larger and increasingly violent forces, until Berberati, the second city in the Central African Republic, had been completely invaded.}}

Mayor Albert Nakombo described his town of some 50,000 people, located more than 600 kilometres (370 miles) southeast of the capital Bangui, as “peaceful up until now” and “proud of its tradition of hospitality”.

The town was occupied for more than a year by mainly Muslim fighters of the Seleka rebellion who put Michel Djotodia in power last March and ran riot by attacking Christians.

But Berberati was spared by the Seleka forces who had gone on to commit widespread atrocities elsewhere when Djotodia was forced to step down by his regional peers in January for failing to halt the violence.

“There were a lot of them, but they left the town without doing any harm,” Nakombo said. “We gave a big sigh of relief.”

Then, a few days after the ex-rebels pulled out, on Saturday February 8, the first “anti-balaka” (anti-machete) group of vengeful Christians arrived in town. “This phenomenon had never existed in our region,” the mayor said.

Formed early in the 1990s in northwestern CAR to fight bands of robbers, anti-balaka militias forces took up arms again last summer to attack civilians of the Muslim minority, accused of siding with the Seleka fighters.

Across the poor and landlocked country, a brutal surge of killings, mutilations, rapes and pillage has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their towns and villages. Entire Muslim communities have fled.

{{‘Sectarian cleansing’}}

Amid international warnings of “mass atrocities and sectarian cleansing”, summed up Friday in the words of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, African nations and France have deployed more than 7,000 troops, due to be backed by European Union peacekeepers.

In Berberati, the anti-balaka came first from the north and then the east. “There were several hundred of them,” said Father Thomas Isaie, the priest at the Saint Basile church situated in the town’s main Muslim district, Loumi.

“On the Monday, they started to search the homes of Muslims. I prevented them from getting hold of the mosque. I said ‘No, this is sacred.’ During the day, another wave arrived, armed, more threatening and more vindictive and they began systematic destruction,” the priest said.

Isaie added that about 10 Muslims were killed, while other residents spoke of 15 dead.

“What happened here was planned,” the mayor declared. Among the militiamen, there were many renegade soldiers of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), who had been beaten last year by the Seleka, according to witnesses.

Coming from the Bossangoa region to the northwest and also from neighbouring Cameroon, these insurgents include supporters of ousted president Francois Bozize who ruled 2003-2013, said Mamadou Achirou, a representative of the Muslim community.

More than 500 Muslims have taken refuge inside the bishop’s residence, protected by a few Congolese soldiers from the African Union’s MISCA peacekeeping force. Laundry lay on the grass to dry, men huddled under a frangipani tree to chat, and children laughed as the troops passed by.

These people were brought to safety by Father Isaie, who said that more Muslims come to his church each day. “There are also many Christians who protect the Muslims, bringing them to the parish or taking them in.”

{{‘Prove that they are Christians}}’

Last Wednesday, about 150 French paratroopers arrived in Berberati as a scout force before the deployment of other units from France’s Operation Sangaris military mission and of more MISCA troops.

“Sangaris is here but we need to take action,” Mayor Nakombo said. “These people who have invaded us are wandering around town and mocking the population. We must put an end to that.”

“Now they say they want to cooperate with the authorities, but that’s a diversion,” argued Father Isaie, though he acknowledged that “most of the anti-balaka” withdrew from the town when the French troops arrived.

“Looting and threats against Muslims are still taking place,” he added.

“Parishioners are asking me for baptismal cards to prove that they are Christians. Are we going to accept that?” the priest asked on Sunday during a meeting attended by General Francisco Soriano, commander of Operation Sangaris.

A few moments before the meeting, a hand grenade exploded at one entrance to Berberati, seriously wounding three people.

“Be careful,” a nun named Sister Benedicte warned the French general. “In the districts, I listen to young unemployed people and youths who are suffering. Many support the anti-balaka.”

“The population needs to understand that those people have not come to protect them,” Soriano replied. “They are here to help themselves and bring disaster. We must stop them. The Seleka have gone. We must not allow others to take their place.”

AFP

{{The Road Development Agency (RDA) and Ndola Lime have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate the construction of a cement production plant in Ndola on the Copperbelt at an initial cost of US$400 million}}

Charles Sipanje, permanent secretary, ministry of transport, works, supply and communications, said, ‘’This project will help the Government to create more job opportunities as well as help in reducing the high cost of cement in the country.

The government will support this initiative which RDA and Ndola Lime have come up with to establish a cement plant in Ndola.”

Willie Nsanda, board chairperson, RDA, said the government plans to release US$3mn for the assessment of Ndola Lime’s underground limestone reserves followed by the detailed feasibility study of the cement project.

“Recognising the importance and role that a good road network plays to the economic and social development of any nation, RDA intends to collaborate with Ndola Lime to facilitate for funding, feasibility studies, design, construction and management of a cement production plant,” he said.

The project is being undertaken among other considerations, to warrant supply of cement for road construction at a reasonable cost.

RDA is implementing various road infrastructure projects such as maintenance, rehabilitation and construction programmes and is one of the major consumers of cement.

The final cost of setting up of the cement plant will be determined after the completion of the feasibility study.

{{Zimbabwe has received a US$23mn Chinese grant to finance infrastructure construction in rural areas, particularly schools and clinics}}

Patrick Chinamasa, Zimbabwean minister for finance and economic development, and Lin Lin, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, signed the deal in Harare.

Chinamasa said the grant would be earmarked for the construction of clinics and primary and secondary schools in resettled areas acquired under the land reform programme. Other projects covered by the grant include borehole drilling and acquiring meteorological equipment.

Zimbabwe adopted a ‘Look East’ policy from 2005 as it increasingly relies on the emerging Asian economies, especially China, to offset sanctions.

For the past three years, China has become Zimbabwe’s top foreign investor, with bilateral trade growing to more than US$1.2bn in 2013.

Chinamasa said the grant was one of the results of his visit to Beijing at the end of December 2013, a few months after his appointment as minister.

“China has supported Zimbabwe in various forms, which include sizable chunks of grants, interest-free and concessional loans,” he added.

Also known as ZimAsset, the five-year plan is the ruling Zanu-PF party’s recipe for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery, industry sources said.

The plan aims to achieve an average seven per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the five years ending in 2018 from an estimated 3.4 per cent in 2013.

However, Zimbabwe needs US$27mn as an investment for the blueprints to materialise, and the nation cannot produce such finances alone, industry sources claimed.

Chinabasa said the two governments agreed that while they were working towards the conclusion of a comprehensive financial package within the next three months, the Chinese embassy would continue providing support for other programmes and projects.

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