Another 4,000 Central Africans flee to Chad, recount village raids

Another wave of Central Africans has fled into southern Chad, with more than 4,000 arriving in the last 10 days and recounting how armed bands pillaged their homes and raped young women, a UN official said on Wednesday. According to George Menze who works for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Gore, southern Chad, an evaluation mission completed this week found 4,085 refugees had crossed over the frontier since 7 August. This is the third wave of Central Africans fleeing to neighbouring Chad in the last two months. In early June thousands of people sought refuge across the border after what they said was violence between CAR government forces and “unidentified armed groups.” Another group of about 2,000 people turned up in Chad in late July. Menze said the latest refugees were reporting that groups of 30 to 40 men had attacked their villages, looting all food and belongings and raping young women. The refugees told UNHCR officials that in some cases the armed men were in military uniform, he said. “This seems to go beyond banditry,” Menze said. “These groups seem organised. This is becoming more serious.” A UN security team conducted an evaluation mission to northern CAR earlier this month but officials have declined to comment on the results. The region has seen a long period of unrest due to a history of military coups and civil war, as well as the volatile border area with neighbouring Chad. Army sources say the CAR military, in collaboration with Chadian forces, recently conducted joint operations in the area to try to flush out armed groups terrorising citizens. UN officials familiar with the region say the CAR government does not have the means to control the armed groups in the north. International aid groups and UN humanitarian agencies are not operating in northern CAR because security cannot be guaranteed, and aid workers say the instability means residents are deprived of proper healthcare and many basic services. UN officials familiar with the region said that some Central Africans are likely crossing the border not only because of the tense security situation but also to try to get to refugee camps and the promise of food and healthcare. Menze said UNHCR would be doing a more thorough identification and registration process in the coming days, before transferring the refugees to the Amboko camp near Gore, where they will join their compatriots that fled earlier this year. Another 30,000 Central African refugees have been living in Amboko and another camp in southern Chad since clashes in 2002 between fighters loyal to former president Ange-Felix Patasse and to his then army chief of staff Francis Bozize, who was sworn in as the newly-elected president in June.