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CAR man: Why I ate man's leg | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Sectarian violence in the Central African Republic has reached a new extreme with an act of cannibalism in the capital, Bangui. The BBC's Paul Wood has heard a graphic first-person account, which some might find upsetting. | Sectarian violence in the Central African Republic has reached a new extreme with an act of cannibalism in the capital, Bangui. The BBC's Paul Wood has heard a graphic first-person account, which some might find upsetting. |
The buses throwing up clouds of red clay dust had yet to rub out the ugly bloodstain in the dirt. A Muslim man had been murdered here a few days ago, by Christians. His limbs were hacked off. Then one of the crowd ate the flesh in a public demonstration of cannibalism. | The buses throwing up clouds of red clay dust had yet to rub out the ugly bloodstain in the dirt. A Muslim man had been murdered here a few days ago, by Christians. His limbs were hacked off. Then one of the crowd ate the flesh in a public demonstration of cannibalism. |
We were filming nearby when a young man in a yellow T-shirt came up to talk to me. | We were filming nearby when a young man in a yellow T-shirt came up to talk to me. |
"I am the naughty one," he said in broken French. Puzzled, I shook his hand and was about to ease past him when I noticed the machete tucked into his skinny jeans. "I am the naughty one," he repeated. | "I am the naughty one," he said in broken French. Puzzled, I shook his hand and was about to ease past him when I noticed the machete tucked into his skinny jeans. "I am the naughty one," he repeated. |
With a sickening feeling, I realised I was talking to the cannibal. | With a sickening feeling, I realised I was talking to the cannibal. |
Camera phones had captured the crime. The pictures show a charred and dismembered body being dragged through the street by a crowd. A man held a severed leg and bit down into it. | Camera phones had captured the crime. The pictures show a charred and dismembered body being dragged through the street by a crowd. A man held a severed leg and bit down into it. |
The same man was standing in front of me. He was even wearing the same yellow T-shirt. | The same man was standing in front of me. He was even wearing the same yellow T-shirt. |
A few minutes earlier, I had spoken to a horrified witness, Ghislein Nzoto. He said a frenzy began when the Muslim man was dragged from a bus. | A few minutes earlier, I had spoken to a horrified witness, Ghislein Nzoto. He said a frenzy began when the Muslim man was dragged from a bus. |
"People started attacking him, kicking him. They smashed a rock against his head. They kept going even after he was dead." | "People started attacking him, kicking him. They smashed a rock against his head. They kept going even after he was dead." |
He went on: "They set the body on fire. There were about 20 youths. They cut a whole leg off. Then one of them started to eat it. He bit into it four times and swallowed. It was raw - not burned. | He went on: "They set the body on fire. There were about 20 youths. They cut a whole leg off. Then one of them started to eat it. He bit into it four times and swallowed. It was raw - not burned. |
"This was right in front of the Burundian peacekeepers. One of the soldiers vomited. Then he chased people away with his gun." | "This was right in front of the Burundian peacekeepers. One of the soldiers vomited. Then he chased people away with his gun." |
'I swore revenge' | 'I swore revenge' |
The cannibal's name was Ouandja Magloire - though he told me he was now known as "Mad Dog". We went somewhere a bit quieter so I could ask him why he had done this awful thing. | |
He told me that Muslims had killed many members of his family: His pregnant wife, his sister-in-law, and her new baby. | |
He saw his victim sitting on the bus and decided to follow it. More and more people joined him until he was at the head of a mob. | He saw his victim sitting on the bus and decided to follow it. More and more people joined him until he was at the head of a mob. |
"We followed him," he said. "If he reached the intersection, the Burundians would protect him. So we told the minibus driver to stop. The driver said: 'You're right. He is a Muslim.'" | |
He described what happened after the man was dragged off the bus: "I kicked his legs out from under him. He fell down. I stabbed his eyes. | He described what happened after the man was dragged off the bus: "I kicked his legs out from under him. He fell down. I stabbed his eyes. |
"Muslim! Muslim! Muslim. I stabbed him in the head. I poured petrol on him. I burned him. Then I ate his leg, the whole thing right down to the bone - with bread. That's why people call me Mad Dog." | |
The most disturbing part of the video is where "Mad Dog" is seen happily chewing, his cheeks bulging. He waves a leg about in between mouthfuls. I returned to the question of why he had done this. | |
"Because I am angry," he said. He had no other explanation | "Because I am angry," he said. He had no other explanation |
'Magic' powers | 'Magic' powers |
The witness I'd spoken to, Ghislein Nzoto, said no-one tried to help the man. | The witness I'd spoken to, Ghislein Nzoto, said no-one tried to help the man. |
"No-one at all," he said, shaking his head. "Everyone's so angry with the Muslims: No way anyone was going to intervene." | |
He didn't agree with Muslims being killed but it was at least something he could understand, he said. Like others I spoke to, he was baffled by the act of cannibalism. | He didn't agree with Muslims being killed but it was at least something he could understand, he said. Like others I spoke to, he was baffled by the act of cannibalism. |
He agreed with me that it could simply be the act of a disturbed individual. | He agreed with me that it could simply be the act of a disturbed individual. |
Or it might come from hatreds that have exploded in a country that never before experienced sectarianism. Or, his final explanation, this could be something to do with sorcery. | Or it might come from hatreds that have exploded in a country that never before experienced sectarianism. Or, his final explanation, this could be something to do with sorcery. |
Many of the Christian fighters we met - the anti-balaka - believe in magic. They go into battle wearing a variety of amulets. A group of fighters at a checkpoint told me some of the amulets contained the flesh of men they had killed. | |
"We are bullet-proof," their commander told me, chuckling. | "We are bullet-proof," their commander told me, chuckling. |
"Mad Dog" Magloire went much further than these fighters. His singular act might be the result of his own demons, not a symptom of the conflict. | |
But as we interviewed him, a small crowd gathered, all Christian. They shook his hand and patted his head, smiling and laughing. To them, he was a hero. | But as we interviewed him, a small crowd gathered, all Christian. They shook his hand and patted his head, smiling and laughing. To them, he was a hero. |
That does not augur well for the future of the Central African Republic. | That does not augur well for the future of the Central African Republic. |