CAR: Clashes kill six in Batangafo

Event

Clashes between unidentified gunmen and villagers in Batangafo (Ouham prefecture) have resulted in the deaths of six people since Thursday, September 7. Violence erupted on Thursday following the death of an NGO volunteer. According to a press release published on Tuesday, September 16, by CAR’s International NGO Coordination Committee (CCO), most NGOs have fled the city, leaving 28,000 without aid. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said it is able to provide basic health services to the area but warned that the humanitarian situation was worsening in northern CAR.

Context

This latest outbreak of violence comes after approximately 10,000 internally displaced people (IDP) in the Central African Republic (CAR)  were forced to take refuge in a hospital in Batangafo, according to a report released by MSF on Thursday, August 10. The makeshift camp was set up two weeks after an IDP camp in Bangassou was attacked and several aid offices were robbed in two waves of violence that left 24 people dead and 17 injured in early August.

Religious conflicts have ravaged CAR since December 2013. Clashes between various armed groups continue to be reported regularly despite the June 19 signing of an "immediate ceasefire" agreement between the CAR government and 13 out of the 14 rebel groups present in the country.

The capital Bangui has especially been gripped by deadly clashes between the Christian Anti-Balaka group and ex-Seleka Muslim militias. The conflict has led to hundreds of deaths, created almost 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and pushed more than 500,000 people to seek refuge in the neighboring countries of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad.

Advice

Individuals present in the region surrounding Batangafo are advised to monitor local developments, to maintain a high degree of situational awareness, and to avoid all public gatherings due to the risk of violence.

More generally, a number of Western governments advise their citizens against travel to the east and northeast of the country for various security reasons, including the presence of armed groups and ongoing conflicts.