CAR: Thousands protest widespread violence

IRIN report May 19, 2006 - excerpt:

At least 3,000 people took to the streets of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, on Friday in protest against escalating violence in the country; especially in the northwest where fighting between armed raiders and the army has left up to 70,000 civilians displaced.

"For sometime now, insecurity has continued unabated in the capital as well as in provinces, especially in the northwest region," Noel Ramada, chairman of the country's largest trade union, the USTC, said. "We want peace, not violence."

The protestors carried banners that read: "No to Rebellion" and "No to Bad Governance". They urged rebels and the government to stop the fighting and to work for peace.