Security and shelter concerns for refugees

The state of over 400 Congolese refugees languishing in Batalimo in the Central African Republic (CAR) is giving cause for concern, although the general refugee situation is reported to be relatively stable, humanitarian sources said on Thursday. A total of 402 refugees, fleeing the fighting between rebels and government troops in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were spread out among 86 local families in Batalimo, living in “deplorable sanitary conditions”. At least 36 of them have died, mostly from malaria and meningitis. The security situation is also worrying due to the uncontrolled movement of refugees and the growing risk of illegal weapons circulating. However, the representative of the Italian non-governmental organisation COOPI in Bangui, Claudio Pachi, told IRIN from the CAR capital that generally, refugees were receiving nutritional and sanitary assistance. He said there were a total of 7,249 Congolese refugees, down from the 10,000 originally registered in the country. Some 2,500 had reportedly returned to their country. Many of these refugees were used to crossing the borders and were relatively well-organised. Furthermore, they came from riparian communities and had friends and relatives on the other side of the Oubangui river which forms the border between CAR and DRC. “Many of these refugees fled before the bombings [in western DRC] started,” Pachi stated. “They anticipated the situation.” For this reason, they were not in a desperate state “although it is never easy being a refugee”. The refugees are spread throughout Mongonga sub-prefecture and it was hoped they would be moved to a more permanent site, 60 km away, by the end of the year, Pachi said. He acknowledged that many of the refugees had been forced to find shelter in public buildings and under plastic sheeting. Pachi said he was not aware of DRC government soldiers crossing with the refugees into CAR, although there were reports of troops arriving in the Betou area of neighbouring Republic of Congo (RoC). Regional observers have warned that transferring the refugees to the permanent site at Molangue will be problematic, citing a lack of adequate means of transport. However, it was hoped the move would resolve the current problems of lack of security and shelter, particularly for the refugees at Batalimo.