UNHCR renews call for protection of displaced people after attack on CAR convoy
Suspected militia group attacks humanitarian convoy with grenade, killing two people and injuring six in Central Africa Republic town of Dissikou.
![](/thumb1/535fa1906.jpg)
This group of displaced people are living in a school in the town of Bossangoa but remain at risk, like some 15,000 other Muslims in surrounded sites. © UNHCR/A.Greco
BANGUI, Central African Republic, April 29 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency on Tuesday stressed the need to provide physical protection to forcibly displaced communities a day after a fatal grenade attack on a humanitarian convoy.
The convoy, carrying members of the Muslim community to safety in Kabo and Moyen Sido in the north, was hit by a grenade believed to have been thrown by an Anti-Balaka militiamen. The attack, which occurred at Dissikou, left two people dead and six injured.
"UNHCR condemns the attack and offers its condolences to the victims' families. It underscores the need to provide physical protection to displaced communities at risk," spokesperson Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba told journalists.
The 18-truck convoy was moving 1,300 people previously trapped in the troubled PK12 neighbourhood of the capital, Bangui. They had fled to PK12 to escape inter-communal violence that has been tearing apart the country since December 2013. However, PK12 later came under threat, leaving the displaced living in constant fear of attacks without enough food and in squalid conditions because of lack of sanitation facilities.
Taking into account their request to be moved to safer areas and given the imminent and serious threat to their lives, the UN humanitarian country team organized their relocation on Sunday. The operation was decided as a measure of last resort, under the leadership of Senior Humanitarian Coordinator Claire Bourgeois.
The convoy spent Sunday night near Sibut, before continuing its three-day journey. On Monday, despite the attack, it was able to continue to Kaga Bandoro, where people injured in the attack received medical assistance. A UNHCR team accompanying the convoy reported that three babies have so far been born during the journey.
This was the second relocation operation from PK12, following the movement of 93 people, including 35 children, to Bambari on April 20. "UNHCR participated in the operations in view of our commitment to promote the human rights of all the internally displaced, particularly the right to physical security, irrespective of their community background. UNHCR is committed to savings lives and alleviating the plight of all the displaced and to work with the government to that end," Lejeune-Kaba said.
There are currently more than 600,000 internally displaced in the Central African Republic, including above 15,000 Muslims who remain at risk. They are surrounded and threatened by militiamen in 15 locations across the western part of the country.
UNHCR and its partners are supporting mediation efforts to allow for co-existence. Such efforts have already produced some positive results in areas like Bouboua, where people recently returned from the bush where they had sought shelter. UNHCR and other members of the humanitarian community are looking to reinforce these tendencies, with a clear focus on paving the way for the return of those who have relocated, those who remain displaced in CAR, as well as for the more than 348,000 refugees who fled to neighbouring countries.
Related news and stories
Starting over, Central Africans returning home after years of displacement, need support to rebuild
After conflict, the displaced of Central African Republic dream of going home
Thirty years of hope and higher education for refugees in West Africa
UNHCR's Grandi urges more support as Chad confronts multiple crises
Farming initiative transforms refugees' lives in the Central African Republic
Hopeful Central African refugees return home from DR Congo
Your search for « Central African Republic » matched 3809 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 14 of 112 pages.
-
D.R. Congo: 6,000+ cross into Central African Republic
28 Jul 2000 ... Fighting in the northern province of Equateur in the Democratic Republic of Congo has prompted some 6,000 people to cross into the Central African Republic (CAR). On July 22 alone, 1,203 persons ...... -
Chad / Darfur / Cameroon / Central African Republic displacement
14 Mar 2008 ... ... They found refuge in Kousséri, a Cameroon border town on the Logone River. Southern Chad/Central African Republic: UNHCR teams report that 3,000 more refugees from the northern Central African ...... -
56-Central-African-Republic
6 Oct 2020 ... 71 ème Session du Comité Exécutif, 5 au 9 octobre 2020 1 DISCOURS DE SON EXCELENCE MADAME LA MINISTRE DE LA PROMOTION DE LA FEMME, DE LA FAMILLE ET DE LA PROTECTION DE L’ENFANT, REPRESENTANT LE ...... -
Chad: Central African Republic refugees still arriving
6 Sep 2005 ... UNHCR has been advised by Chadian authorities that another 2,000 refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) have arrived in southern Chad over the past two weeks. They are the latest new ...... -
UNHCR helps Angolans return home from Central African Republic
8 Jun 2006 ... BANGUI, Central African Republic, 8 June (UNHCR) - A first group of eight refugees from Angola have recently returned home with the one-off help of UNHCR after years of exile in the remote Central ...... -
Thousands flee violence in Central African Republic and seek shelter in in southern Chad
17 Feb 2014 ... BEKONINGA, Chad, February 17 (UNHCR) - As the humanitarian situation deteriorates in Central African Republic, thousands of traumatized and confused people have been fleeing to towns and villages ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2010 - Central Africa and the Great Lakes subregional overview
20 Jun 2011 ... Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad (see under Chad-Sudan situation) Congo (Republic of the) Democratic Republic of the Congo Gabon Rwanda United Republic of Tanzania 2 UNHCR Global ...... -
UNHCR steps up assistance for Central African Republic refugees in DRC
8 Mar 2013 ... up efforts to help more than 24,000 refugees from Central African Republic and UNHCR is examining the possibility of constructing a refugee camp in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ...... -
Number of refugees from Central African Republic approaches 40,000 mark
5 Apr 2013 ... number of civilians fleeing instability in Central African Republican has risen to almost 40,000 and ... offices have reported fresh arrivals into Chad, Cameroon and Democratic Republic of the Congo. ......