Bible Translator Gunned Down by Islamic Rebels in Africa While Trying to Protect Family

A Bible translator working in the violently unstable country of the Central African Republic was gunned down and killed last week while attempting to transport his family to safety. The Central African Republic has been in a state of upheaval since the March 2013 coup led by Islamic rebel groups known as the Seleka.

Elisée Zama, a translator working for ACATBA, a partner organization of Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Central African country, was reportedly shot in the city of Bangui while attempting to transport relatives to safety at a hospital compound amid growing violence between locals and members of the Seleka. The unpaid Islamic militia group overthrew President François Bozizé in March 2013, and since this overthrow the rebel group has continued to inflict violence in the form of looting and surprise attacks on locals, especially Christians in the towns of Bangui and Bossangoa. The violence has heightened in recent months as the Seleka attempt to stave off a counter-coup by Christian residents who have formed small fighting groups of their own in response to the rebel violence.

The Seleka have been especially targeting Christians, often times attacking villages in the middle of the night and looting homes while murdering residents with machetes. As the Telegraph notes, members of the Seleka can be seen throughout Bangui riding around on stolen motorbikes, which usually take about four years of savings to purchase. Keep reading