Thousands of civilians flee as army fights bandits

At least 2,000 villagers in two provinces in the northwest of the Central African Republic are hiding in the bush without food while an equal number has fled to neighbouring Chad recently to avoid fighting between the army and bandits, local sources said. At the same time, humanitarian workers said on Friday displaced villagers in the provinces of Ouham and Ouham Pende were in dire need of relief aid as insecurity had prevented humanitarian agencies from providing help. "The food and health situation in this region is difficult and there is no way to immediately bring food to the thousands of people in need," Maurizio Giuliano, the public information officer for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said on Friday. "However," he said, "we are urgently exploring possible cooperation with a number of local partners, to ensure that we are indeed in a position to deliver such aid reasonably soon, subject of course to receipt of funding from international donors, whom we have already contacted." Marcus Prior, the UN World Food Programme regional public information officer, said, "We are extremely concerned about the situation of people in the affected areas." The Italian agency COOPI has reduced its activities. The affected areas have been tense since the army launched its operations on 24 January after bandits attacked the airport, as well as the police and gendarmerie stations in the town of Pahoua. The operations have spread fear among some villagers who said the authorities had accused them of "getting along" with the bandits and withholding information about their location. There is general public belief of the existence of three organised armed groups in the country. These are the Union of Republican Forces, the People's Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy, and the Patriotic Movement for the Rebirth of the CAR People. However, on Monday Francis Bozize, the director of cabinet of the defence minister, said the government was unaware of organised armed rebellion in the country. "There are so many rumours in the country about armed groups but I can assure you that the national army did a good job in the north and particularly in Pahoua, last week, to chase away the armed bandits," he said. Francis Bozize is the son of President François Bozize, who is also the nation's defence minister. Armed banditry has increased in intensity over the past six months and spreading. Another region recently plagued with the problem is the town of Berberati in Mambere-Kadei Province, southwest of the capital, Bangui. Giuliano said some 700 civilians had been displaced and were without food and adequate sanitation.