CAR Faces Acute Humanitarian Crisis With Over 2.6Mln People in Dire Need of Aid - MINUSCA

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) The humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is disturbing, as nearly 660,000 people are internally displaced and another 623,000 have sought refuge in neighboring countries amid unceasing attacks on the civilian population, Mankeur Ndiaye, the UN special representative for CAR, said in an interview with Sputnik.

"The humanitarian situation in car remains dire with over half of the population, or about 2.6 million persons, in need of assistance. ... Unfortunately, armed groups violence continues to exacerbate the situation, with an unforgivable resurgence of attacks against humanitarian workers, which aggravates the needs of the population," Ndiaye said.

According to the chief of the UN stabilization mission in CAR (MINUSCA), the landlocked country in Central Africa is one of the 10 most dangerous places for humanitarian organizations to work in.

From January to August of this year, there were 267 security incidents, including 22 casualties, two of which were deaths, "which represents a 42 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019," Ndiaye noted.

"As an integrated mission, one of MINUSCA's priority tasks is to coordinate with all humanitarian actors, including the United Nations country team, and facilitate the creation of a secure environment enabling the full, immediate and secure delivery of humanitarian assistance, in accordance with United Nations guiding humanitarian principles," the official added.

The Central African Republic is still recovering from a conflict between the armed forces and militants that broke out in 2013. Much of the fighting was between Muslim-majority Seleka and Christian Anti-Balaka militias. In February 2019, the government and the leaders of 14 armed groups reached a peace deal to put an end to the long-lasting conflict.