A/HRC/25/43 to respond to the violence committed by those who may now be referred to as the former Séléka. In its resolution 23/18, the Human Rights Council had expressed concern about the risk of intercommunity and interreligious confrontations. These fears proved to be justified, as the anti-balaka responded to the abuses committed by the former Séléka against the nonMuslim civilian population by carrying out attacks not only on the ex-Séléka but also on the Muslim civilian population. 8. The September 2013 attacks by the anti-balaka against the former Séléka and the Muslim communities living in villages in Ouham prefecture2 marked the beginning of an armed conflict between the anti-balaka and the former Séléka that plunged the country into a cycle of intercommunity violence. 9. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, anti-balaka militias attacked the Muslim neighbourhood of Zéré village, 25 kilometres from Bossangoa in Ouham prefecture, killing 56 people of the Muslim faith and burning down the houses in the Muslim neighbourhood and the mosque.3 According to this report, other Muslim communities (including Bodora and Ouham-Bac) were also attacked by anti-balaka militias. 10. In the following days, ex-Séléka reportedly engaged in reprisals and, according to the Human Rights and Justice Section BINUCA, which conducted a mission to Bossangoa from 19 to 21 September 2013, ex-Séléka killed 61 people between 8 and 20 September in and around Bossangoa. Between the end of September and the beginning of October, it is reported that ex-Séléka also carried out reprisals in localities around the town of Bossangoa. In the Wikamo area, on 10 October 2013, for example, they killed four people, including a 12-year-old child, and burned down the whole village. 11. This cycle of violence, consisting of armed clashes between ex-Séléka and antibalaka, on the one hand, and reprisals against the Muslim and Christian civilian populations, on the other, hit the Nana-Mambéré, Ombella-M’Poko, Ouham and OuhamPendé prefectures before reaching the capital. 12. On 5 December 2013, at about 4 a.m., anti-balaka militias attacked Bangui. For a short period they managed to take control of Camp Kasai, held by ex-Séléka, but were eventually repelled. The attackers then scattered throughout the city. This led to a wave of killings by both ex-Séléka and anti-balaka. The latter are reported to have gone from house to house killing Muslims, and ex-Séléka allegedly took reprisals against Christian civilians. By 6 December 2013, the attacks had left 300 people dead and4 several hundred people injured5 and had resulted in the displacement of 52,000 people in Bangui.6 13. Following the adoption of Security Council resolution 2127 (2013) on 5 December 2013, which authorized French forces in the Central African Republic to take the necessary measures to support the African-led International Support Mission in the Central African 2 3 4 5 6 4 Former President Bozizé is originally from Ouham prefecture. Human Rights Watch, “They Came to Kill: Escalating Atrocities in the Central African Republic”, 2013, p. 20. This figure, provided by the National Red Cross, does not take into account the bodies buried by the families of the deceased, or regional figures, which explains why the figure of one thousand persons killed, provided by organizations such as Amnesty International, seems plausible (Amnesty International: “Central African Republic: War crimes and crimes against humanity in Bangui”, press release of 19 December 2013). On 5 December, 18 children received treatment at the Paediatric Centre in Bangui, including for gunshot and stab wounds. OCHA, “OCHA Central African Republic (CAR), Flash Update 1, Armed conflict, 6 December 2013”. GE.14-11122