Below a small brief on the security situation in the first half of 2007, taken from the Mid-Year Review of aid operations in CAR.

This is a good first introduction to the rebellion in the north and other security problems in the Central African Republic.

For more info, please read the full Mid-Year Review of our Coordinated Aid Programme.

In late 2006 and early 2007, the UFDR militant group rose to prominence in the northeast of the CAR. Conflict has since spread from Birao to the town of Mouka in the south, and to Ndélé in the west. As a result, a rising number of civilians have been displaced. The villages of Ouanda- Djallé, Gordil and Tiringoulou were particularly badly affected by the violence. Medical centres in the region were destroyed and most schools closed due to fighting between militant groups and Government forces.

CAR overview map and areas affected by violence

The UFDR controlled virtually the entire Vakaga prefecture in the northeast (including several towns) for four weeks in November 2006. The militant group attacked the town of Birao again in early March. Two days of fighting left a destroyed and deserted town, where roughly 70% of houses were burnt and food stocks destroyed.

The situation in the northeast has calmed down, following the signing of a peace agreement between the Government and the UFDR on 13 April 2007. Yet, with refugees pouring in from Darfur in late May, the reality of sub-regional politics once again obliterated signs of progress.

In the northwest, violence spread during the first quarter of 2007, with almost daily skirmishes between The Popular Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD) militant group and Government forces. In mid-January, armed men attacked Paoua, and heavy fighting against national forces ensued. This was followed by widespread abuse by Government forces in retaliation against the civil population. The town of Ngaoundaye, on the border with Cameroon and Chad, was attacked twice in mid-April and late May. During the latter attack, APRD killed the local sous-préfet which triggered a disproportionate reaction by the national forces. Food stocks were destroyed and between 3,000 and 3,500 people fled into the bush, some 300 crossing the border into Chad.

The increased presence of armed bandits, known as coupeurs de route, in the northwest, mainly on the Bozoum-Bocaranga axis, has contributed to a further degradation of the fragile security situation. The semi-nomadic cattle-breading Peuhl tribe is especially targeted. Armed bandits regularly abduct children and women, demanding ransoms from the families. As a result, as many as 11,000 civilians, mainly of Peuhl ethnic origin, have sought refuge in the town of Bozoum, seeking a safety haven.

The HDPT now estimates that some 291,000 people in CAR have fled from their homes because of violence, 212,000 of which are internally displaced. 79,000 have crossed borders into Chad, Cameroon, and Sudan. Added to this is the flow of refugees to CAR escaping violence in Sudan’s South Darfur region, which could potentially accrue over the next couple of months.