Pope Francis urges Christians and Muslims to shun violence as he ends African tour

Pope Francis arrives at the Central Mosque in the PK5 neighbourhood to meet with members of the Muslim community on November 30, 2015 in Bangui, Central African Republic. The Pope later flew back to Rome after ending his three-nation African tour. AFP PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA  

In Summary

• Thousands of people gathered at the roadside, cheering as his popemobile drove down the red dirt roads.
• Francis' message of peace and reconciliation appeared to have made a powerful impression.
• A group of Muslim rebels turning up to join tens of thousands watching a papal mass at the capital's Barthelemy Boganda Stadium.
• His message — and the fact that he actually visited the country despite significant security concerns — struck a chord with locals and drew pledges of peace and forgiveness.

By AFP
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BANGUI, Central African Republic

Pope Francis on Monday said that Christians and Muslims were "brothers", urging them to reject hatred and violence.

He said this while visiting a mosque in the Central African Republic's capital which has been ravaged by sectarian conflict.

On the last leg of a three-nation tour of Africa, the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholic visited a flashpoint Muslim neighbourhood in Bangui on what was the most dangerous part of his 24-hour visit.

Thousands of people gathered at the roadside, cheering as his popemobile drove down the red dirt roads.

As his vehicle passed, many waving Vatican flags and dressed in long traditional robes, ran down the road after it, an AFP correspondent said.

"Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters," he said after meeting Muslim leaders at the Koudoukou mosque in the PK5 district, the last Muslim enclave in Bangui where tensions remain high after months of violence.

"Together, we must say no to hatred, to revenge and to violence, particularly that violence which is perpetrated in the name of a religion or of God himself," he said.

The pope later flew out of Bangui at the end of his first trip to Africa that has also taken him to Kenya and Uganda.

Francis' message of peace and reconciliation appeared to have made a powerful impression, with a group of Muslim rebels turning up to join tens of thousands watching a papal mass at the capital's Barthelemy Boganda Stadium.

In extraordinary scenes just before the pope's arrival, two pickup trucks pulled up in the middle of the crowd and a group of Muslim vigilantes from PK5 leapt out, all wearing T-shirts bearing the pope's image, an AFP correspondent said.

As they pushed through the crowd in an area where Muslims usually do not dare to venture, people cheered and applauded, shouting: "It's over" in reference to the inter-communal hatred which has blighted the country.

TIGHT SECURITY, RELAXED ATMOSPHERE

Several hundred people had packed into the mosque, including a number actually living there after being forced out of their homes by the violence.

"We are very proud to welcome him; the pope is not only for the Christians, he is a servant of God for all Central Africans," said Ibrahim Paulin, a spokesman for the displaced.

Francis said his visit to CAR "would not be complete if it did not include this encounter with the Muslim community," saying all those who believed in God "must be men and women of peace".

Perched high on the mosque's minarets were armed UN peacekeepers from the MINUSCA force who were keeping a close eye on the crowds as a helicopter buzzed overhead.

At the edge of the district, armed Muslim rebels stood alert in front of wooden barricades, watching out for any threat from Christian vigilantes.

Despite the tight security, the visit took place in a relaxed atmosphere.

The 78-year-old pontiff has hammered home a message of peace and reconciliation, ending his visit with a mass at the 20,000-seat stadium, with thousands more watching it on giant screens set up outside.

After arriving from Uganda on Sunday, he urged people to avoid "the temptation of fear of others" of a different ethnic group or religion, before visiting a camp housing some 3,000 internally displaced people in the heart of the capital.

His message — and the fact that he actually visited the country despite significant security concerns — struck a chord with locals and drew pledges of peace and forgiveness.

READY TO FORGET

"We should eat together, we should live together with Muslims," said Clarisse Mbai, a mother who lost all her possessions in inter-religious violence.

"They looted everything, they burnt my house and I have nothing but I am ready to forget," she said.

Nicole Ouabangue, whose husband was hacked to death with an axe, said she had heard many speeches before but the pope's words were "different".

"Pope Francis has more influence. If there is anybody who can resolve our problems on Earth, it is him," she said.

Landlocked Central African Republic descended into bloodshed after long-time Christian leader Francois Bozize was ousted by rebels from the mainly Muslim Seleka force in March 2013.

The coup triggered a wave of violence between Muslim rebels and Christian "anti-balaka" militias, plunging the former French colony into its worst crisis since independence in 1960.

On Sunday, Francis opened a "holy door" at Bangui Cathedral, marking the symbolic beginning of a Jubilee Year dedicated to forgiveness and reconciliation.

Until now, such a gesture has only ever taken place in the Vatican or in Rome.