Almost all of the Central African Republic’s 436 mosques have been destroyed said the US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, after her visit to the country last week.
Describing the scenes she saw as “kind of crazy, chilling,” Ms Power told the UN Security Council that 417 of 436 mosques in the Central African Republic had been destroyed after months of sectarian violence in December 2013.
Whilst French and European troops have been in the country alongside UN peacekeepers, their departure this weekend led to “a big drop-off in capability,” said Ms Power. Some 8,000 UN peacekeepers remain in the country.
She went on to add the disarmament of armed groups remains a “huge priority”.
See more of her comments here.