UNHCR seeks immediate access to refugees and displaced civilians in Central African Republic

News Stories, 11 January 2013

© UNHCR/D.Mbaiorem
Children displaced by violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) attend an open-air class at a camp last year.

GENEVA, January 11 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency is seeking immediate and unconditional access to tens of thousands of refugees and civilians displaced by the recent fighting in the north and east of Central African Republic (CAR), one of the poorest and most deprived nations.

"We believe that these civilians face deteriorating living conditions and that they need urgent and potentially life-saving help," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva.

He added that while UNHCR welcomed the one-week ceasefire announced on Thursday during peace talks in Gabon between the CAR government, the Séléka rebel alliance and opposition parties, "We fear that many more people will be affected, including some 700,000 in the capital [Bangui], if full-scale fighting resumes.

It is impossible to give precise figures for the number of newly displaced because of the fluid security situation and lack of access to rebel-held areas, but UNHCR has received reports of thousands of people being displaced in the north and east since the start of the Séléka advance about a month ago. Some 800,000 people were believed to be living in the affected areas when the current crisis erupted.

"We are extremely concerned about the general welfare of displaced civilians, many of whom live under harsh conditions and in remote settlements, as well as of refugees from countries including South Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Edwards stressed.

The Central African Republic hosts some 17,000 refugees and 2,500 asylum-seekers. "We call on all sides to respect the human rights of all civilians and to allow humanitarian access to them," the UNHCR spokesman said.

He added that UNHCR was particularly worried about some 2,000 Sudanese refugees in the Bambari camp, in the central part of the country – an area under rebel control. UNHCR is trying to re-establish contact with this refugee population. There were confirmed reports that the UNHCR office there was looted on December 28 after the staff were evacuated. Another UNHCR office, in Kaga-Bandoro, has also been looted.

The current crisis in the country has also led to a small number of people fleeing to neighbouring countries. UNHCR staff have registered 286 refugees from CAR in the Nord-Oubangui region of Democratic Republic of the Congo's Equateur province. "We are also investigating reports that some refugees have arrived in southern Chad," Edwards said in Geneva.

Meanwhile the looting of several World Food Programme warehouses in Bria, Bambari and Kaga Bandoro could cause serious delays to food distribution to refugees in Bambari, Zemio and Batalimo. UNHCR and the WFP are looking for a quick solution for resuming food aid.

• DONATE NOW •

 

• GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

Related Stories

more documents

UNHCR country pages

Central African Republic Fact Sheet

UNHCR Operation in CAR

Silent Success

Despite being chased from their homes in the Central African Republic and losing their livelihoods, Mbororo refugees have survived by embracing a new way of life in neighbouring Cameroon.

The Mbororo, a tribe of nomadic cattle herders from Central African Republic, started fleeing their villages in waves in 2005, citing insecurity as well as relentless targeting by rebel groups and bandits who steal their cattle and kidnap women and children for ransom.

They arrived in the East and Adamaoua provinces of Cameroon with nothing. Though impoverished, the host community welcomed the new arrivals and shared their scant resources. Despite this generosity, many refugees died of starvation or untreated illness.

Help arrived in 2007, when UNHCR and partner agencies began registering refugees, distributing food, digging and rehabilitating wells as well as building and supplying medical clinics and schools, which benefit refugees and the local community and promote harmony between them. The Mbororo were eager to learn a new trade and set up farming cooperatives. Though success didn't come immediately, many now make a living from their crops.

Mbororo refugees continue to arrive in Central African Republic - an average of 50 per month. The long-term goal is to increase refugees' self-reliance and reduce their dependency on humanitarian aid.

Silent Success

Crisis in the Central African Republic

Little has been reported about the humanitarian crisis in the northern part of the Central African Republic (CAR), where at least 295,000 people have been forced out of their homes since mid-2005. An estimated 197,000 are internally displaced, while 98,000 have fled to Chad, Cameroon or Sudan. They are the victims of fighting between rebel groups and government forces.

Many of the internally displaced live in the bush close to their villages. They build shelters from hay, grow vegetables and even start bush schools for their children. But access to clean water and health care remains a huge problem. Many children suffer from diarrhoea and malaria but their parents are too scared to take them to hospitals or clinics for treatment.

Cattle herders in northern CAR are menaced by the zaraguina, bandits who kidnap children for ransom. The villagers must sell off their livestock to pay.

Posted on 21 February 2008

Crisis in the Central African Republic

DR Congo: Central African Republic RefugeesPlay video

DR Congo: Central African Republic Refugees

Fighting and a coup since late last year in Central African Republic have forced more than 30,000 people to seek refuge in DR Congo. UNHCR chief António Guterres visited some of them.
Central African Republic: The Forgotten CrisisPlay video

Central African Republic: The Forgotten Crisis

On a mission to Central African Republic, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres described the violence and forced displacement in the country as a forgotten tragedy.
The Mbororo: A way of life at riskPlay video

The Mbororo: A way of life at risk

Systematic attacks on settlements in Central African Republic have forced more than 60,000 people from the Mbororo tribe to flee to neighbouring Cameroon. UNHCR is trying to help these nomadic herdsmen restart their lives.