Pope Francis closes Africa tour with poignant plea for unity at besieged mosque in CAR
By the time he had left for the airport, thousands of people had followed his example and crossed into the neighbourhood chanting “war is over” in the local Sango language – a sign that, at least for a day, his message – that Christians and Muslims had long lived peacefully together here and that religion could never justify violence – had taken hold.
United Nations peacekeepers stood guard in the minarets of the mosque as the Pope arrived in his open-air vehicle, which he had insisted on using throughout his trip despite security risks. Two years of Christian-Muslim violence has divided the capital and forced nearly one million people to flee their homes. The once vibrant markets of PK5 have now been largely closed and many Muslim-owned businesses stand in ruins.
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