Nairobi — Thousands of people who fled their homes in northwestern Central African Republic are reluctant to return despite improved security conditions, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
The 18-month conflict between government forces and the rebel Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy (French acronym APRD) has displaced tens of thousands of people, especially around the towns of Kaga Bandoro and Paoua, according to aid workers.
Many villages have been burnt down, and possessions, crops and livestock stolen - prompting those displaced to seek shelter mostly in forests, close to their fields.
"Even though the security situation is now calmer, people from Bodoli - and other villages all along the route to Paoua town - still do not feel safe enough to return home," the ICRC said.
Conditions in the makeshift forest shelters, it added, were dire, with people living without enough food, often without clean water, and with virtually no way to get medical help.
At the start of the rainy season, roads turned into quagmires, making it more difficult to reach the displaced. On 9 July, for example, Red Cross workers had to dig their lorry out of the mud before they could reach the village of Boymadja.
"The combination of conflict and instability means that business and commerce are grinding to a halt," the ICRC, which is implementing a distribution programme targeting 100,000 people, said. "The future for the villagers living rough in the forests of northwest CAR looks more uncertain the longer they stay away from their permanent homes."
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Even though the security situation is now much calmer, people...still do not feel safe enough to return home
The APRD claims the CAR government toppled a legitimate government in March 2003, has mismanaged public funds and divided the nation. On 26 June, Amnesty International warned that the conflict-affected areas had become a free-for-all hunting ground for various armed opposition forces, government troops and even armed bandits.
The rebels, however, recently signed a peace agreement with the government.
Humanitarian agencies estimate that about 290,000 people have been forcibly displaced in CAR since the conflict began, including 26,000 who fled to Cameroon.
About 21,000 of the displaced in Cameroon went there in 2006, and the rest since then. Another 4,000 are expected to cross the border before the end of the year. Médecins Sans Frontières said among the displaced, children were suffering "alarming" malnutrition and needed immediate aid.
On 1 August, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator announced a US$2.3 million grant from the Central Emergency Response Fund, for life-saving programmes to address the emergency in CAR.
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
