[Crossed Fates in Central African Republic](http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/crossed-fates-in-central-african-republic/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog Main&contentCollection=Multimedia&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body&_r=0#)
The moment Sam Phelps left the Central African Republic, he knew he had to return.
He had been there in 2013, documenting the food security crisis in Boda, a small town southwest of the capital, Bangui. On the final days of his trip, he was told he couldn’t leave the country: All travel had been prohibited after violent clashes broke out in Bangui, between the Seleka, a mostly Muslim rebel group, and the anti-balaka, composed of mostly Christian militias.