Fresh violence is cursing the Central African Republic, with 50 people killed in the northwest part of the country over the past 48 hours.  In the capital Bangui, two Muslim men were taken out and hanged to death in a revenge attack by angry members of the Christian community.

The mob suspected the two men were involved in earlier violence; they were lynched, their bodies dragged around the streets, and were eventually burnt in a public square.  Revenge attacks against Muslims are growing more common, and last week’s abdication of coup-leader Michel Djotodia from the presidency he took by force in March 2013 provided only a temporary respite. 

Some 1 million people have fled their homes since the coup, and they still can’t go home.  The European Union and United Nations say the country needs more assistance.  The CAR was already one of the world’s poorest countries.  Now people desperately need food, medicine, clean water, and sanitary facilities.  Emergency shelters and simple household goods like blankets are also in short supply.

“At the moment, there is no state in the Central African Republic,” said Jean Louis de Brouwer, the EU Commission's Humanitarian and Civil Protection operations director.  “There's no finance ministry.  In Bangui, the ministry buildings are empty.  The civil servants that still remain have not been paid in months.”