CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: UN AGENCIES SCALING-UP AID AMIDST MORE DISPLACEMENT

From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 20 Sep 2013 13:00:00 -0400
Subject: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: UN AGENCIES SCALING-UP AID AMIDST
MORE DISPLACEMENT
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: UN AGENCIES SCALING-UP AID AMIDST MORE
DISPLACEMENTNew York, Sep 20 2013 1:00PMThe United Nations food
relief agency is reopening its offices in the northern parts of the
country and using mobile teams to reach some of the 500,000 people
estimated to be in dire need of aid in the Central African Republic
(CAR), as fresh fighting in the northwest is displacing more families.

Wrapping up a two-day visit to the country, UN World Food Programme
(WFP) Regional Director for West Africa, Denise Brown,
<"http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-scaling-operations-central-african-republic-assist-people-need-and-displaced-c">said
the UN agency is committed to scaling up operations, "The presence of
the international humanitarian community in CAR in full force is
extremely important."

The CAR – which has been marked by decades of instability and fighting
– witnessed a resumption of violence last December when the Séléka
rebel coalition launched a series of attacks. A peace agreement was
reached in January, but the rebels again seized the capital, Bangui,
in March, forcing President François Bozizé to flee.

The recent fighting has further eroded even the most basic services in
the country and exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation
affecting the entire population of 4.6 million people, half of whom
are children. Currently, 1.6 million people are in dire need of
assistance, including food, protection, health care, water, sanitation
and shelter.

Security incidents are still reported in the capital, Bangui, and
across the country, and crime remains a major threat with the
humanitarian community increasingly a target of looting and attacks by
armed groups, according to WFP.

During the visit, Ms. Brown met with beneficiaries some 400 km
northwest of the capital Bangui. She spoke to displaced people, many
of them women, who had walked for days with their children in search
of a safe place, leaving everything behind.

"We are at a critical time in the country when support is immediately
required," Ms. Brown said, also highlighting the need to access areas
of insecurity.

In meetings with President Michel Djotodia, Prime Minister Nicolas
Tiangaye, and members of the transitional government, WFP said that
Ms. Brown stressed security guarantees for WFP and its partners so
they can safely carry out food assistance programmes.

Brown also met Special Representative of the Secretary-General,
Babacar Gaye, and with Humanitarian Coordinator Kaarina Immonen and
partners to underscore the importance of the international community's
involvement, as well as education as priorities for CAR.

Staring next month, the UN agency said it plans to provide emergency
school meals at schools that will reconvene. Many will remain closed
and teachers are absent due to security reasons.

"The first day of school is around the corner. We have got to get the
children back in school but we need security and conditions that allow
parents to send their children to school in confidence" said Ms.
Brown. "We need to do more, invest in education and nutrition and jump
start the economy in this country".

In Bossangoa, some 300 km northwest of Bangui, an inter-agency mission
with the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN
Children's Agency (UNICEF), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), WFP and
partners arrives to asses the extent of the displacement.

"People they met spoke of multiple abuses by both sides in the
conflict, including murder, rape, and torture," UNHCR spokesperson
Adrian Edwards <"http://www.unhcr.org/523c1ef09.html">told journalists
in Geneva.

He said heavy clashes had been reported between Saturday and Tuesday
between unidentified armed groups around Bossangoa and Bossemblele,
150 km northwest of Bangui.

"People told us that those who returned to their villages had to flee
again, and spoke of arbitrary arrests, kidnappings, extortion and
illegal taxation by armed men," the UNHCR spokesperson said.

The fighting appears to have subsided but situation remains tense,
according to the UN agency.

It continues to provide aid kits consisting of tarpaulins, blankets,
sleeping mats, kitchen sets, jerry cans, buckets, soap and hygienic
kits to women and girls in the area, as part of distribution to some
3,000 recently uprooted people.Sep 20 2013 1:00PM
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