Displaced children sit at a makeshift camp in the Central African Republic. (file photo)
Officials from the United Nations and the European Union have promised to help the victims of the “forgotten crisis” in the Central African Republic.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos and European Commissioner for International Cooperation Kristalina Georgieva, who are on a two-day visit to the country, talked to local people and official in the town of Kaga-Bandoro, which is located 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of the capital Bangui, on Friday.
“We want to draw the attention of the international community to what is happening to you,” Amos told the locals, adding, “Central African Republic will no longer be a forgotten crisis.”
Kaga-Bandoroâ„¢s school, government offices, and UN agency buildings have been pillaged several times since Seleka rebels seized power in the capital in March.
Constant attacks by armed groups have forced many civilians of the town of 26,000 people to live in the nearby forests and fields, where they survive on roots and the leaves of manioc plants.
“We are living like animals… the attacks have stopped in the last week because the armed groups no longer know where or who to attack,” Pascal Zoumbeti, the mayor of Kaga-Bandoro, told the visiting officials.
Zoumbeti added that gunmen had raped 37 women in the town.
The EU official also said that malnutrition rates in the country were twice last year’s levels, calling it Å“a crisis coming on top of an existing crisis.”
“It is on the conscience of the world that we have forgotten Central African Republic,” she stated.
Violence has displaced around 206,000 people in the CAR and pushed 55,000 refugees across the borders.
Å“The entire population of 4.6 million people is affected by the crisis. Half of those are children… The humanitarian needs are huge and increasing, with 1.6 million people in need of assistance,” Amos said in Bangui later in the day.
She also called on the CAR authorities Å“to urgently reestablish the rule of law so that regular aid streams can be restored.”
On January 11, former CAR President Francois Bozizé and representatives of the Seleka rebels signed an agreement in Libreville, Gabon, after three days of negotiations brokered by regional neighbors.
However, the deal fell through, and Michel Djotodia, leading thousands of Seleka rebels, captured Bangui and proclaimed himself president after seizing power from Bozizé on March 24.
The Seleka fighters launched an offensive against the CAR government in December 2012.
There are many mineral resources, including gold and diamonds, in the Central African Republic. However, the country is extremely poor and has faced a series of rebellions and coups since it gained independence in 1960.
NT/HGL
Republished with permission from: Press TV