Armed gangs are seizing children for ransom payments in the lawless north of the Central African Republic (CAR), human rights body Amnesty International says according to BBC online Tuesday.
Some parents have paid up to 4.000 US dollar (ca. 22.000 DKR – en enorm sum i et fattigt land) for their children to be freed – other minors have been killed, Amnesty says.
The region is a “free-for-all” for rebels, soldiers and armed bandits, a researcher who has just returned says. CAR has accused neighbouring Sudan of backing the rebels, with attacks coming from Darfur. Sudan denies the charges.
Some families have had their children kidnapped seven times, says Amnesty researcher Godfrey Byaruhanga. Civilians were fleeing “from the frying pan into the fire” by heading to Chad and Sudan, he said. More than 280.000 people have fled their homes in the past year.
