CAR: Relative calm in Bangui November 13-14 /update 1

Event

The situation is slowly returning to normal in the PK5 district of the capital Bangui as of Monday, November 13. Additional security forces, with the assistance of the UN Mission in CAR (MINUSCA), have been deployed to the area following a grenade attack at a café and subsequent retaliatory attacks, in which eight people were killed and 21 others injured overnight November 11-12. Self-defense militias also patrolled the neighborhood. According to local sources, a relative calm was reported on Monday; however, businesses and schools remained closed and roads were empty. Businesses are expected to reopen on Tuesday.

Context

Religious conflicts have ravaged the CAR since December 2013. Clashes between various armed groups continue to be reported on a regular basis despite the June 2017 signing of an "immediate ceasefire" agreement between the CAR government and 13 out of the 14 rebel groups present in the country.

Bangui has been especially gripped by deadly clashes between the Christian Anti-Balaka group and ex-Seleka Muslim militias, especially in the PK5 district which has long been the epicenter of ethnic violence. 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 neighboring Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad.

Advice

Individuals present in Bangui are advised to monitor local developments and maintain a high degree of situational awareness.

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.