Sibut Comes Back to Life

By Karen Ann SULLIVANI | LNC

(Sibut, August 14, 2026 | LNC) The muezzin’s call to prayer had not been heard in Sibut for 12 years. Calm has returned following a civil war that drove many Muslims into exile. In his small grocery shop, Idriss Elder chats with customers, stocks his shelves, and counts his earnings—ordinary actions he had stopped performing after fleeing in 2014. "Since there was no longer any understanding between people, it was better to flee and seek refuge elsewhere," he recounts after returning from exile in Chad. Sibut—located on a major route connecting the capital, Bangui, to towns in the country's north and east—is a crossroads town of nearly 40,000 inhabitants. It was known for its markets and the harmony that once prevailed between Christians and Muslims. Sadly, that harmony was shattered by the 2013 civil war, marked by a Séléka offensive and a counter-offensive by anti-Balaka militias that led to the ousting of former President François Bozizé. In Sibut’s Adramane neighborhood, where the Muslim community lives, homes and businesses had been destroyed or abandoned. The central mosque was looted and destroyed in 2014. Twelve years later, Adramane is slowly coming back to life. In the recently rebuilt central mosque, the faithful can once again gather and pray together at the muezzin’s call. Dressed in a dark boubou robe, Saïd Goni, the mosque’s imam, explains to AFP: "What we preach here is living together, social cohesion, and peace." "All of us who have returned need peace," says the man himself—back from exile—as he tries to convince those still living far from Sibut to come home: "Those who don't want to return are relying on rumors and are afraid. But we reassure them regularly. We ourselves have returned to where we used to live; there is no longer any serious danger." Idriss Elder, a merchant, adds: "I’m not afraid anymore. There is security now, and everything is back to normal." However, the scars of destruction remain visible in the neighborhood, which is struggling to regain its former appearance. As Avenir Bissafi, a Christian busy working under a tent under construction, points out: "This neighborhood wasn't like this before. (...) Today, it’s in ruins; the market isn't even functioning normally—everything is at a standstill." According to Ousmane Chaïbou, president of the Islamic Council of Sibut, many natives of the town are still living elsewhere in the Central African Republic or in neighboring countries. It is worth noting that in 2020, the UN estimated that nearly 700,000 Central Africans were displaced within the country and 800,000 were refugees in neighboring countries, out of a total population of approximately 5 million. Fear is not the only obstacle to returning, however, as many people no longer have anything left in Sibut. As Ousmane Chaïbou explains: "The real problem is their destroyed homes. To this day, they have no house to live in." Local authorities need to support this return process and strengthen social cohesion. Rodrigue Leya, Secretary General of the Kaga region, visited the central mosque for this purpose to speak with the faithful about their living conditions: "After all the crises we’ve been through, some people have already returned," he notes. However, as in the rest of the country, stabilization remains fragile. Moreover, in this landlocked nation—ranked among the poorest in the world—its underground mineral wealth attracts covetous interests, and numerous armed groups operate there, particularly along the borders with Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

LNC

Date: August 14, 2026

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