Around 20 concertgoers injured in C.Africa grenade attack

Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | A grenade attack on a concert in Bangui, the capital of the chronically unstable Central African Republic, injured around 20 people, the UN peacekeeping force and witnesses said.

The assault late Saturday saw two unidentified attackers hurl a grenade at a cafe named “On the Crossroads of Peace” during a concert by local singer Ozaguin, said Herve Verhoosel, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force MINUSCA.

The cafe is located near the PK5 majority Muslim district of Bangui, once a Muslim rebel bastion, and now home to several armed groups.

Even though relative peace has been restored in Central Africa following the civil war that erupted in 2013, inter-communal tensions remain.

Among those injured in Saturday’s attack were several musicians from Ozaguin’s group, Verhoosel said.

A doctor at the hospital where the injured were rushed for treatment said 21 people had been admitted.

A witness who did not give his name said the attackers had launched four grenades at the cafe.

In a video posted on his Facebook page, the singer Ozaguin — dubbed the king of Central African rumba — confirmed six of his fellow musicians had been injured.