On the morning of 29 January 2025, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., a bad experience involved two Sisters of Charity of St. Jean Antide Thouret on the Bocaranga-Bouar road.

A group of unidentified armed men stopped the vehicle carrying the Bocaranga Sisters and their drivers near the village of Douya, between 15 and 17 kilometres from Bocaranga.

The Sisters were on their way to an inter-congregational meeting.

The main road in Bocaranga

According to the information gathered, the assailants forced the Sisters and their drivers to follow them into the bush for a distance of more than 10 kilometres.

Once isolated, the Sisters and drivers were searched and the money they were carrying was confiscated.

All were released between 2 and 3pm the same day.

The Sisters of Charity, who are committed to the local population, also experience the general insecurity in which the families living in the Bocaranga region find themselves.

The Sisters of Bogaranga after their release

Underlying many of the problems in the Central African Republic is the conflict that has gripped the country for several decades.

The situation is fragile and unstable. The country is largely controlled by various armed groups from different backgrounds.

Located in the heart of Africa, the Central African Republic (CAR) is, after Niger, the poorest country in the world.

Sixty percent of its approximately six million inhabitants live on less than a dollar and a quarter a day.

The Central African Republic is also among the countries with the highest infant and maternal mortality rates and the population has, in general, a rather low life expectancy: only 54 years.

Source: https://www.suoredellacarita.org/