Top of the Morning: Grave Warning on Anti-Muslim Violence in CAR

Top stories from DAWNS Digest

UN Rights Chief Issues Grave Warning on Anti-Muslim Violence in CAR

Some 15,000 muslims are stuck in enclaves in Bangui. “Thousands of Muslims in the Central African Republic remain in danger of being slaughtered despite the presence of international peacekeepers, Navi Pillay, the United Nations human rights chief, warned on Thursday, criticizing the international community for a slow and inadequate response to the country’s humanitarian catastrophe. Massacres that killed thousands in December and January have halted for the time being, but ‘inter-communal hatred remains at a terrifying level as evidenced by the extraordinarily vicious nature of the killings,’ Ms. Pillay said in a statement delivered in the capital, Bangui, at the end of a two-day visit. “This has become a country where people are not just killed, they are tortured, mutilated, burned and dismembered.” (NYThttp://nyti.ms/1mjuCsZ)

Thousands of Migrants from North Africa Rescued at Sea

Most of the refugees are trying to make it to Europe via Libya. “Italian authorities say they have rescued more than 4,000 would-be migrants at sea over the past four days as the war in Syria and instability in Libya spawn new waves of refugees. The numbers of migrants reaching Italian shores generally rises this time of year as warm weather and calm seas make the Mediterranean Sea crossing from North Africa easier. But the U.N. refugee agency said the numbers so far in 2014 represent a 300 percent increase over the same period in 2013.” (AP http://yhoo.it/1gWTNKH)