HIGHLIGHTS
As of 3 July, more than 5,500 have fled to Chad and Cameroon to escape the Central African Republic (CAR) violence – refugees arriving in the two neighbouring countries, which already host tens of thousands of refugees from CAR, said they had seen killings, kidnappings, looting and the torching of their homes;
In Chad, the majority of household heads are women and more than 20 per cent of those arriving have been identified by protection staff as vulnerable with specific needs;
In Cameroon, 137 of the 555 CAR arrivals in mid-June from the Bocaranga region were transferred to Ngam refugee site where biometric registration will be carried out.
The needs of the new arrivals included health care, construction or rehabilitation of water outlets, education access and facilities – humanitarian partners are monitoring the border for more crossings and distributing aid.
KEY FIGURES
5,570 New CAR arrivals in Chad
555 New CAR arrivals in Cameroon
FUNDING
USD $345,705,556 requested for refugees and their host communities in Cameroon, Chad, DRC,
RoC
Funded 21% Gap 79%
PRIORITIES
Ensure registration of new arrivals;
Address urgent humanitarian needs of the targeted population in term of in food, shelters, health, water supply, and psychosocial support, access to education, registration, documentation, SGBV prevention and peaceful coexistence awareness for a sustainable integration of refugees in the host villages.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
After a few months of relative peace and stabilization in the Central African Republic (CAR), since Faustin Archange Touadera was elected President in February 2016, armed militia started to take up violent incursions against civilians and rival armed groups in the Ouham Pendé region of the north-western CAR.
On 11 June, a dispute between cattle herders, escorted by ex-Seleka members and anti-Balaka “self-defence” forces, escalated into a week of intense violence between the two armed groups, leaving about 25,000 to 30,000 people affected inside CAR and prompting over 6,000 people to flee to neighbouring countries. Such clashes have become a seasonal occurrence as herders move their animals across the land. But this year, disturbingly, rival ex-Seleka and anti-Balaka militias have become involved. As of 3 July, 5,570 CAR refugees have been registered in southern Chad and 555 in Cameroon.
In Chad, United Nations agencies and partners together with the Chadian Commission Nationale d’Accueil et de Réinsertion des Réfugiés et de Rapatriés (CNARR) are now catering for the needs of deeply traumatized persons, mainly women, children and elderly, stranded near Mbitoye town in southern Chad where they found refuge in the villages of Mini and Sourouh. The newly arrived refugees report having witnessed killings, kidnappings, looting and the burning of their homes.
As the Chad/CAR border remains closed, refugees risked to be arrested by the police when they crossed into Chad. While the security situation in Chad remains calm, the emergency team expects more refugees to arrive over the coming days.