The residents of this town near the Sudanese border are on edge, fearful that rebel fighters will repeat a recent assault that caused three-quarters of the population to flee in panic.
Aid workers are still trying to track down many of the vulnerable residents, as well as Sudanese refugees from nearby camps, who fled to the bush after the attack on the night of 8 November and have not yet returned.
"The latest attack traumatised people; many are still in the bush because they're afraid there will be more attacks, and those who have come back to town have their bags packed and are ready to go again," said Jean-Robert Doumanchi, the mayor.
Sam Ouandja, a town of around 20,000 people, lies in the northeast Central African Republic, about 80km from the Sudanese border.
It is controlled by an alliance of government troops and fighters from the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR), a former rebel movement, which in June signed a peace deal with the government.
When about 40 rebels struck on the night of 8 November, they seized weapons and equipment before being pushed back by soldiers and UFDR fighters.
The assault, during which at least two of the attackers were killed and one was captured, left just one soldier wounded and did not, according to several sources, target the civilian population.
But thousands of terrified residents nevertheless fled. "This is not the first time that the town has been attacked," said Doumanchi, noting that it was previously hit in 2006 and 2007. "When people hear gunshots, they don't stay in their houses, they run and hide in the bush."
Tensions were heightened the day after the attack because people saw some aid workers being flown out by helicopter. "The people said to themselves: if the NGOs are going, it's because they know something, so we should leave too," said Doumanchi.
Food distribution was interrupted for several days after the attack in the refugee camps that house some 3,000 Sudanese who fled the conflict in Darfur.
When workers from the International Medical Corps (IMC), which runs the local hospital and a nutrition therapy centre, returned to the hospital after the attack, only three out of 50 patients were still there. All 22 children in the nutrition centre had left with their parents.
A week later, only a dozen children had returned.
"One of the children who came back had seriously regressed, with complications," said Felicien Djamby-Sangui, a nutritionist at the centre.
"In 2007 [when IMC first set up in Sam Ouandja], there was a lot of malnutrition - as high as 45 percent in the refugee camp," he said. "We managed to bring it down to just 2 percent for severe cases and 11 percent for moderate cases. But with these latest events, we risk returning to the previous situation."
Pregnant women and nursing mothers also fled the town.
"They came back with malaria, with injuries to their legs caused by the rough terrain, or with malnutrition or diarrhoea, because in the bush they did not eat well and they drank poor-quality water," said Rosalie Mandche, a midwife at the hospital.
Question of timing
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but observers say it could be the work of the Democratic Front of the Central African People, a rebel faction that did not sign up to the peace deal in June, or a UFDR dissident group.
The attack came just ahead of the launch in December of peace talks meant to bring together the government and the main rebel groups.
"These attackers want to disrupt the peace dialogue," said Igor Sakaba, an army commander in Sam Ouandja.
The presence of armed men in and around Sam Ouandja is a constant reminder of the lack of security in the area.
The army and the UFDR may be on the side of the government, but that, say many locals, does not stop them exploiting the townspeople.
"They extort money from us," said one woman. "When we're heading out to the fields, they set up checkpoints and take money from us."
"They're armed, you can't say anything. We have to put up with their abuse because they are defending the town, but we're not happy," said another local.
ail/rm/mw
Aid workers are still trying to track down many of the vulnerable residents, as well as Sudanese refugees from nearby camps, who fled to the bush after the attack on the night of 8 November and have not yet returned.
"The latest attack traumatised people; many are still in the bush because they're afraid there will be more attacks, and those who have come back to town have their bags packed and are ready to go again," said Jean-Robert Doumanchi, the mayor.
Sam Ouandja, a town of around 20,000 people, lies in the northeast Central African Republic, about 80km from the Sudanese border.
It is controlled by an alliance of government troops and fighters from the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR), a former rebel movement, which in June signed a peace deal with the government.
When about 40 rebels struck on the night of 8 November, they seized weapons and equipment before being pushed back by soldiers and UFDR fighters.
The assault, during which at least two of the attackers were killed and one was captured, left just one soldier wounded and did not, according to several sources, target the civilian population.
But thousands of terrified residents nevertheless fled. "This is not the first time that the town has been attacked," said Doumanchi, noting that it was previously hit in 2006 and 2007. "When people hear gunshots, they don't stay in their houses, they run and hide in the bush."
Tensions were heightened the day after the attack because people saw some aid workers being flown out by helicopter. "The people said to themselves: if the NGOs are going, it's because they know something, so we should leave too," said Doumanchi.
Food distribution was interrupted for several days after the attack in the refugee camps that house some 3,000 Sudanese who fled the conflict in Darfur.
When workers from the International Medical Corps (IMC), which runs the local hospital and a nutrition therapy centre, returned to the hospital after the attack, only three out of 50 patients were still there. All 22 children in the nutrition centre had left with their parents.
A week later, only a dozen children had returned.
"One of the children who came back had seriously regressed, with complications," said Felicien Djamby-Sangui, a nutritionist at the centre.
Photo: UNICEF/CAR/2008/Pierre Holtz  |
| The town of Sam Ouandja is home to more than 3,000 refugees from the western Sudanese region of Darfur |
Pregnant women and nursing mothers also fled the town.
"They came back with malaria, with injuries to their legs caused by the rough terrain, or with malnutrition or diarrhoea, because in the bush they did not eat well and they drank poor-quality water," said Rosalie Mandche, a midwife at the hospital.
Question of timing
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but observers say it could be the work of the Democratic Front of the Central African People, a rebel faction that did not sign up to the peace deal in June, or a UFDR dissident group.
The attack came just ahead of the launch in December of peace talks meant to bring together the government and the main rebel groups.
"These attackers want to disrupt the peace dialogue," said Igor Sakaba, an army commander in Sam Ouandja.
The presence of armed men in and around Sam Ouandja is a constant reminder of the lack of security in the area.
The army and the UFDR may be on the side of the government, but that, say many locals, does not stop them exploiting the townspeople.
"They extort money from us," said one woman. "When we're heading out to the fields, they set up checkpoints and take money from us."
"They're armed, you can't say anything. We have to put up with their abuse because they are defending the town, but we're not happy," said another local.
ail/rm/mw
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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