Conditions not yet ripe for return, refugee agency says

Conditions are not yet conducive in northern Central African Republic for the return home of thousands of people who have sought refuge in southern Chad, a local official of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday. "The necessary level of security does not seem to be guaranteed for the resumption of agricultural and economic activities in the northern part of the country where the refugees were living before," Bruno Geddo, the UNHCR representative in Bangui, said. Geddo, who had just returned to the CAR capital, Bangui, from a tour of the area, said armed bandits were still attacking villages near the border with southern Chad. This, he said, made the refugees reluctant to return home. Another factor, he said, was the excessive movement by herdsmen, which prohibited the resumption of agriculture. "Nevertheless, the government is taking the problems seriously," he said. The deployment of government army troops in the affected areas might help restore confidence among the refugees and encourage them to return. In a news conference on Tuesday, the head of the Central African regional peace force known as CEMAC, Gen Auguste Itandas Bibaye, said his troops would shortly deployed to the area to back government troops trying to restore order. He said the troops would be sent to the towns of Bria and Paoua where there is increasing insecurity. France will provide the forces with logistical supports. Bria is in the northern prefecture of Bamingui-Bangoran, close to the border with Chad. Bandits have been attacking civilians in this area over the past three months. In Paoua, in the west of the country, known as the stronghold of the former ruling Mouvement de liberation du peuple centrafricain party of Ange-Felix Patasse, residents live in fear due to the activities of a large number of highway robbers. The 380-man CEMAC force has had its mandate extended for another six months and now has the task of restoring order in the capital and the provinces. Some 220 French troops are in the country.