CAR Emergency
The Central African Republic (CAR) is one of the world's poorest countries.
It has been troubled by unrest for decades, but when a coup led by Seleka rebels ousted the president in March 2013, an already fragile population was plunged into crisis.
"I lost everything: my home, my flesh, my identity. My kids sleep on the floor."
Zainaba, widowed mother of four displaced in Bangui
Back in December 2013, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes as violence spread in the Central African Republic (CAR), with militants brutally killing civilians, looting homes and burning villages. Since then nearly 468,000 CAR refugees are hosted in Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of Congo, and despite peaceful Elections in February 2016, over 415,000 people are still internally displaced inside the CAR.
What has been a gradual transition towards peace and stability, turned into chaos again in mid-June 2016, when clashes between the ex-Seleka alliance and anti-Balaka militia intensified again in north-western CAR, terrorizing up to 30,000 people inside CAR and prompting nearly 6,000 women, children and elderly to seek refuge in nearby southern Chad and Cameroon.
Thousands of people walk for weeks and hide in the forests in a desperate bid to escape, sometimes with nothing to eat or drink. Those who arrive at refugee sites are traumatised by the violence they have witnessed, and we have seen particularly serious malnutrition rates.
In what is one of the most poorly funded emergency situations globally, many people lack even basic survival assistance. Food, health, shelter, and water and sanitation are all primary concerns required for refugees living outside formal sites and for the communities hosting them.
UNHCR and partners have renewed calls for donors to increase their support for programmes in CAR and neighbouring countries.
