The United Nations refugee agency voiced concern today over the \u201cdeteriorating situation\u201d facing more than 400 members of a Muslim minority group trapped by the ongoing violence fracturing the Central African Republic (CAR).
\nAdrian Edwards, spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva that 474 members of the Peuhl ethnic group had been trapped for several months in the town of Yaloke, 200 kilometres northwest of the capital city of Bangui, where they were now facing dire humanitarian conditions.
\nAdults and children had become severely malnourished and more than 30 per cent were suffering from malaria, he noted, adding that there were also six known cases of tuberculosis. In addition, he warned, since their arrival in Yaloke in April, 42 people among the group had died, while others were becoming weaker by the day.
\n\u201cDespite the presence of international forces, the group at Yaloke is still subject to recurrent threats, verbal and physical aggression, and looting by anti-Balaka militias,\u201d said Mr. Edwards. \u201cUrgent humanitarian assistance is needed along with help in relocating them to safer places, either inside the Central African Republic or to neighbouring countries.\u201d
\nHe added that today, the displaced Peuhl are the only Muslims still in Yaloke, and they are confined to an overcrowded site for the internally displaced.
\n\u201cThey cannot go beyond a 500 metre perimeter because of the dangers. This means that they cannot seek safety elsewhere but it also impedes them from securing a livelihood or seeking other help.\u201d
\nOn 18 December, a UNHCR team had visited the Peuhl in an effort to assess the situation and had been confronted with more than 90 per cent of the group members expressing the desire to seek refuge in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon and Chad.
\n\u201cPeople pleaded for assistance with vehicles and security to help them leave the country. Others wanted to be relocated away from Yaloke which is no longer considered viable,\u201d said Mr. Edwards.
\nMore than two years of civil war and sectarian violence have displaced thousands of people in the CAR. According to UNHCR estimates, nearly 440,000 people remain displaced inside the country while some 190,000 have sought asylum across the borders. At the same time, more than 36,000 people \u2013 including the Peuhl \u2013 remain trapped in enclaves across the country, hoping to find asylum in neighbouring states.
\nEarlier this month, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herv\u00e9 Ladsous warned of a potentially explosive situation in the CAR amid continuing violent clashes between the mainly Muslim S\u00e9l\u00e9ka alliance and anti-Balaka militia, which are mostly Christian.
\nThe UNHCR spokesperson noted that the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA) was playing \u201ca key role in protecting people and had prevented numerous acts of violence\u201d but, he cautioned, the situation was now \u201cbecoming worse by the day\u201d and \u201cimmediate action\u201d was necessary to help transport the Peuhl to safety.
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The United Nations refugee agency voiced concern today over the \u201cdeteriorating situation\u201d facing more than 400 members of a Muslim minority group trapped by the ongoing violence fracturing the Central African Republic (CAR). Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva that 474 members of the Peuhl ethnic group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-563","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.agencedh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.agencedh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.agencedh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.agencedh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.agencedh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.agencedh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5707,"href":"https:\/\/www.agencedh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/563\/revisions\/5707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.agencedh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}