CHRISTIAN DIMENSIONS OF VIOLENCE: THE SÉLÉKA/ANTI-BALAKA MILITIAS AND THE LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Ana Raluca ALECU; Andrei MIROIU

Authors

Ana Raluca ALECU Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (NUPSPA), Bucharest. Contact: raluca_ana_alecu@yahoo.com
Andrei MIROIU Department of International Relations, NUPSPA, Bucharest. Contact: andrei_miroiu@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3995-690X

Keywords:

armed groups, religion, Central African Republic, violence, civil war.

Abstract

Beginning in 2013, the Central African Republic has been engulfed in a civil war pitting successive governments against a substantial number of armed groups who also compete against each other for control over territory, population and resources. Some of these groups are claiming to be defenders of religious groups in the country, with the Séléka militias fighting for the Muslim communities and the anti-Balaka groups claiming Christian roots and inclinations. Other religiously inspired armed groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army are also present in the country. The following study is an attempt to understand how the “religious” label can be applied to such armed groups and whether it can influence their behavior, thus bringing into light a valuable, albeit lesser known example on how AGs and religion are connected in contemporary Africa.

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