Violence in Central African Republic at 'terrible proportions', UN humanitarian chief.

Record ID: 903192

  • Title: Violence in Central African Republic at 'terrible proportions', UN humanitarian chief.
  • Date: 18th July 2017
  • Summary: BANGASSOU, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (JULY 17, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STEPHEN O'BRIEN, UNITED NATIONS UNDER-SDECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR, WITH DISPLACED MUSLIMS VARIOUS OF O'BRIEN WITH DISPLACED PERSON HOLDING UP SIGN READING (French): "HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE BLOCKED SINCE 2013" VARIOUS OF O'BRIEN WITH DISPLACED PERSONS HOLDING UP SIGNS READING (French) (LEFT TO RIGHT): "YES TO UNITY / ACCESS TO MARKET / NO TO LOCAL BIAS AGAINST MUSLIM MINORITIES" "We have seen this new development here in CAR of now it's more religious and even ethnic dimension to it which was not the case when I was there two years ago and this is very serious. So here in Bangassou we have evidence of why we have a deteriorating situation with very good work which has being done from by the humanitarians, both in the U.N. and our partners beyond. We need to build on that which is why we really need to raise the cash to help people who are in desperate need." VARIOUS OF DESTROYED MOSQUE AND BURNT DOWN HOUSES VARIOUS OF MAIMOUNA, DISPLACED WOMAN, WALKING INTO A BUILDING AND SHOWING WHERE SHE SLEEPS WITH HER CHILD (SOUNDBITE) (Sango) MAIMOUNA, DISPLACED PERSON, SAYING: "Since we left the mosque, we have no means to survive. We are suffering. There is no food. Since this morning we have been out with the children looking around and we have not been able to eat or drink. There is no water on the site. We don't know who can help us." (SOUNDBITE) (French) MAHAMAT SALET, DISPLACED PERSON, SAYING: "If you are seeing us now, with my brothers next to me, you already have the answer to what you have just asked. It's already been more than two months that we are here on this site, and as you can see, women and children are still sleeping on the verandas. Our living conditions are very, very, very, very painful. Very, very painful. Where we are, our living conditions are truly deplorable." VARIOUS OF DISPLACED PEOPLE (SOUNDBITE) (French) JOSE AGUIRRE, BANGASSOU BISHOP, SAYING: "Now, now it is the Anti-Balakas, but yesterday it was the Selekas. And today the Selekas continue to be a big problem, today, in 2017. They will be a big problem in 2018, 2019, and 2020 if no one does anything." VARIOUS OF UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS SECURING SITE WHERE DISPLACED ARE SETTLED
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2017 14:44
  • Keywords: conflict anti-balaka seleka bangassou UN O'brien humanitarian
  • Location: BANGASSOU, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
  • City: BANGASSOU, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
  • Country: Central African Republic
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016Q8UWK7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Conflict in the Central African Republic has reached 'terrible proportions', the United Nations' Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Stephen O'Brien said on Monday (July 17) during his visit to Bangassou in the southeast of the country.
    O'Brien spoke to people who are among 2000 mostly Muslim civilians taking shelter on the grounds of a cathedral after violence between mostly Muslim Seleka rebels and the Anti-Balaka Christian militias broke out in May in the diamond-mining town of Bangassou, about 730 km (450 miles) east of the capital Bangui.
    Muslims were chased out of a mosque where they had sought refuge during the fighting.
    "We have seen this new development here in CAR of now it's more religious and even ethnic dimension to it which was not the case when I was there two years ago and this is very serious. So here in Bangassou we have evidence of why we have a deteriorating situation with very good work which has being done from by the humanitarians, both in the U.N. and our partners beyond. We need to build on that which is why we really need to raise the cash to help people who are in desperate need," said O'brien.
    O'brien said only buildings that had not been destroyed in the area belonged to Christians. The Red Cross said it had found 115 bodies in Bangassou after days of militia attacks, killed with knives, clubs and bullets.
    The government has basically no control of the regions outside the capital Bangui, allowing militia to roam free.
    Doctors Without Borders (MSF) recently suspended operations in Zemio, about 1,000km east of Bangui after militants shot dead a baby in a hospital housing thousands of displaced people.
    The recent fighting in Bangassou and the towns of Alindao and Bria has uprooted more than 100,000 people in the worst displacement since 2013, and the escalating violence is cutting off access to those civilians most needing help, aid agencies say.
    "Since we left the mosque, we have no means to survive. We are suffering. There is no food. Since this morning we have been out with the children looking around and we have not been able to eat or drink. There is no water on the site. We don't know who can help us," said Maimouna, one of the displaced in Bangassou.
    "If you are seeing us now, with my brothers next to me, you already have the answer to what you have just asked. It's already been more than two months that we are here on this site, and as you can see, women and children are still sleeping on the verandas. Our living conditions are very, very, very, very painful. Very, very painful. Where we are, our living conditions are truly deplorable," said Mahamat Salet, another displaced person living on the cathedral grounds in Bangassou.
    Thousands have died and a fifth of Central Africans have fled their homes in a conflict that broke out after the Seleka ousted President Francois Bozize in 2013, provoking a backlash from the Anti-balaka.
    More than 100 people have died in militia attacks in recent weeks, including an aid worker. Casualty counts have been difficult to confirm because of the ongoing violence and remoteness of the locations.
    In recent months, roaming militias spurred by ethnic and religious rivalries have stepped up violence despite pledges to take part in a government-led disarmament programme.
    "Now, now it is the Anti-Balakas, but yesterday it was the Selekas and today the Selekas continue to be a big problem, today, in 2017. They will be a big problem in 2018, 2019, and 2020 if no one does anything," said Jose Aguirre, a bishop in Bangassou.
    The U.N. mission has 13,000 peacekeepers on the ground, but the U.N. base in Bangassou has also been targeted, prompting the deployment of extra troops to the remote town in May. Several UN peacekeepers from Morocco and Cambodia were killed in May by Christian Anti-balaka attackers and about eight were wounded.
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