Central African Republic: Humanitarians returning to fragile peace struggle to provide assistance

Tensions remain between the rebel coalition known as ‘Séléka' and government forces despite signing a peace agreement on January 11, which marked the end of a month-long conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR). An estimated 80,000 people had been displaced by the hostilities in December and January, and while some who had fled their homes in Ndélé have since returned, most are afraid to go back to their areas of origin due to the security situation. While the announcement of the new prime minister, Nicolas Tiangaye, on 17 January was widely accepted by most, the announcement of the government of national unity three weeks later was met with resistance by some rebels. In addition, reports of armed attacks in the country has led to accusations that some members of the rebel coalition breached the ceasefire. The humanitarian organisations that had evacuated at the height of the conflict have, in the past two weeks, returned to the country. Upon their return, they were granted access to wide parts of the country, including to rebel-held areas, and were able to promptly carry out missions to assess the situation of the affected population. Despite this, some international agencies returned to find their offices had been looted during their absence, hindering their capacity to respond to the needs of the population. The Rapid Response Mechanism in place in the country provides IDPs with emergency assistance such as water, sanitation, nutrition and non-food items. Inadequate funding for the 2013 Consolidated Appeals Process in CAR has compounded existing challenges to providing assistance.