UN peacekeepers were this week accused of standing by while “Muslim Union of Peace” militants opened fire on a group of Christians taking shelter near a church in the south-east Central African Republic.

Three people, including two children, were seriously injured int he 4 December attack. The Christians fled into the bush to escape the gunfire of the “Muslim Union of Peace” militants as they launched an attack on a church-run camp for displaced people in Ippy, 60 miles from the major town of Bambari.

“The UN peacekeepers are present but do nothing to stop the aggressors from committing abuses,” were the words of a survivor. The eyewitness added, “The rebels started shooting and the people ran in all directions.”

The attack came just weeks after members of the killed at least 40 people at a Christian mission in Alindao, burning a church and forcing 20,000 displaced people to flee for their lives.

Christian-majority CAR has been wracked by violence since 2012, when Seleka Islamists overthrew the government. The deployment of a UN international peace-keeping force and repeated negotiated ceasefires between the government and armed groups have had little impact on the ground.