In her inaugural speech she urged both the Muslim fighters behind the coup and the Christian militiamen who rose up in opposition to support peace. “I strongly call on the fighters to show patriotism in putting down their weapons,” she said. “The ongoing disorder in the country will no longer be tolerated.”
Central African Republic has been wracked by sectarian violence for months, with more than 1,000 people killed in Bangui over the course of several days in December alone. Nearly 1 million people have fled their homes, with 100,000 of them living in and around the Bangui airport being guarded by French soldiers.
Her Excellency with the with France minister of Forign Affairs
U.N. officials have warned that the crisis is at high risk of escalating into a genocide, driven by fighting between Christian and Muslim communities in the country with a history of coups and dictatorship.
Oath of Office
Christian Bernis Latakpi, 24, a university student, said he hoped that Samba-Panza, who has been mayor of Bangui since June, would bring much-needed reconciliation after months of bloodshed.
“Since independence, men have always run the country and they have failed at the job,” he said. “We’re looking to her to quickly bring security and to reunite our Muslim and Christian brothers. Because the Muslim Central Africans — they were born here, grew up here and we can’t disown them. Now it’s up to the mother to reconcile these different communities.”
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