Pope Francis is welcomed by CAR interim president Catherine Samba Panza
(on his left) after landing in Bangui on Sunday November 29, 2015. The
Pope said he arrived as "a pilgrim of peace" in the conflict-ridden
nation. AFP PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA
BANGUI, Central African Republic
Pope
Francis Sunday arrived as "a pilgrim of peace" in conflict-ridden
Central African Republic on Sunday, flying in from Uganda on what will
be the most dangerous destination of his three-nation Africa tour.
Thousands
of believers, many from neighbouring countries, are expected to pour
into CAR's capital Bangui to see the 78-year-old pontiff on his landmark
visit to one of Africa's poorest and most unstable countries.
"I
come to the Central African Republic as a pilgrim of peace and as an
apostle of hope," the pope said on his official Twitter feed as his
plane touched down at around 10am (0900 GMT) at Bangui's international
airport where he was greeted by acting CAR president Catherine
Samba-Panza.
Ahead of his arrival, the roads leading to
the airport were bristling with troops and security forces, an AFP
correspondent said.
Close to the airport, tens of
thousands of displaced people have sought refuge from the violence at a
sprawling makeshift camp near to French and UN military bases.
Ahead
of the pope's arrival, workers had been busily repairing potholes and
sprucing up the cathedral square for the visit which many are hoping
will bring encouragement to a country where religious violence that has
raged for more than two years.
Rights groups hope the
Argentinian pope will address the violence on his two-day trip during
which he will visit a mosque in Bangui's flashpoint PK5 district, a maze
of red dirt roads and flimsy shacks that has been at the heart of the
sectarian conflict tearing apart the impoverished nation.
The
area saw an unprecedented wave of violence pitting majority Christians
against minority Muslims in late 2013 and early last year.
HE KNOWS ABOUT OUR COUNTRY
Pope
Francis is also due to celebrate mass in the Barthelemy Boganda sports
stadium and visit a camp for people who have been displaced by the
violence.
Stalls have sprung up across the capital selling everything from Vatican flags to paper crowns to welcome the pope.
"We are very pleased to see the pope,” said Fidele Nodjindorom, who is sheltering at a camp in Bangui.
"He knows that things have happened in our country and maybe he has come to ask God to save us."
The Central African Republic was plunged into chaos after president Francois Bozize was ousted in a coup in March 2013.
A REAL OPPORTUNITY
At
the height of the massacres, around one in five of CAR's 4.6 million
people were displaced and half the population depended on humanitarian
aid.
Violence continues to stalk the country, with at
least 61 people killed in Bangui in late September before UN and French
peacekeeping forces intervened.
Ilaria Allegrozzi of
rights group Amnesty International said the pope "has a real opportunity
to call for the protection of civilians of all faiths, and use his
great moral authority to help reduce the tension that has recently
resulted in deadly violence".
The pontiff left Uganda
early Sunday, a day after huge crowds celebrated as he honoured
Christians martyred for the faith on the second leg of his first trip to
Africa, which he hailed as "the continent of hope".
He
also offered prayers for "the beloved people of Burundi" that the
troubled central African nation will end months of strife that has
sparked fears of renewed civil war.
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