Covenant News

Uneasy Calm Follows Recapture of Bangui

BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (November 1, 2002) - Residents of this capital city were asked to return to work today after government forces recaptured the city and drove rebel forces from the area, sources tell Covenant News Service.

The action follows several days of fighting that led some missionaries to leave the area and forced others to remain in their homes. An Evangelical Covenant Church delegation led by Robert Thornbloom safely returned to the United States Thursday.

"There is some fear yet in parts of town concerning looting by soldiers working for the government or by local thieves," one source reported. "That is not a problem where our office is located," the source added.

Telephone service was restored Wednesday evening, though some neighborhoods remain without electrical power after lightning strikes damaged the system. U.S. Embassy personnel reportedly were planning to leave the city earlier today, most likely the result of a decision made earlier in the week when conditions were more unstable. "The embassy was still referring to the situation in Bangui as fluid late this afternoon, meaning that events can easily change," the source said.

Those remaining in the region ask prayer for those displaced from their homes, for families who lost loved ones in the fighting and for underlying tensions in the country that remain unresolved.

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