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Silent crisis in Central Africa

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Brussels)
PRESS RELEASE
February 26, 2003
Posted to the web February 26, 2003
Brussels
An increasingly bloody civil war in the Central African Republic (CAR) is
forcing thousands to flee from their homes and villages and leaving many others
dead or injured. This crisis has gone largely unreported and receives scant
attention from governments and the aid community alike.
The repercussions of the fighting between the government of CAR President Ange-
Felix Patassé and rebel leader and ex-defence chief Francis Bozizé have been
felt particularly severely in CARs northern neighbour, Chad, which has
witnessed a steadily increasing influx of refugees into its' already
impoverished villages. Since 20th February over 1500 refugees have crossed the
border every day (an increase from 50 per day in mid-January).
Since the beginning of the influx in November 2002, despite making repeated
calls for aid, MSF remains the only organisation to have reacted in any serious
way to the crisis, constructing refugee transit camps with a capacity of 1000
at Goré and 1600 at Danamadji, two villages near to the Chad/CAR border. Both
of these camps are already full to capacity. While the UNHCR has also pledged
to step up its operations in the area, according to the MSF team on the ground,
without a rapid and comprehensive response, an increasingly desperate situation
risks becoming a catastrophe.
"The situation is complex," explains Pierre Boulet-Desbareau, emergency co-
ordinator of the MSF camps, "the refugees are coming with nothing, they are
sleeping in the streets, they have nothing to eat and they are frightened. The
ethnic and religious mix of the refugees may prove to be a tinder-box if the
influx is not dealt with effectively."
MSF is currently providing medical support to villages where the influx is at
the highest level, setting up or bolstering health structures in addition to
trucking in a vital life-line of over 20000 litres of water.
The arrival of the refugees has been particularly problematic for the Chadian
villages bordering the CAR. The village of Komba, which even before the crisis
struggled to provide for the basic needs of its inhabitants, has seen its
population increase from 360 to nearly 4000. The total number of refugees is
estimated to be as high as 25000. However, in many areas, there is no effective
registration system in place.
With foreign militias lending support to President Patassé, the fighting in CAR
is intensifying, driving increasing numbers of people into the hostile bush
surrounding their homes and forcing many to undertake journey of up to 300km by
foot to Chad. According to Desbareau, "the health of the arrivals seems to be
worsening with each day, they are suffering a great deal after a treacherous
flight."

   

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