Central African Republic refugees live in dire conditions: MSF

Doctors Without Borders says thousands of refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) who have sought shelter in Cameroon face dire living conditions.

The humanitarian aid organization published a report on February 28, in which it said CAR refugees are living under trees in and around the town of Garou-Baoulai, in eastern Cameroon.

The report also stated that the refugees rely on the solidarity of local community to feed and clothe themselves.

Doctors Without Borders [aka, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)], called on all humanitarian groups to urgently provide assistance for those who have arrived in Cameroon from the Central African Republic.

The refugees “have already suffered too much and they are extremely vulnerable,” said Mariano Lugli, the MSF assistant director of operations, who just returned from Cameroon.

Lugli also stated that “as the situation in CAR deteriorates, more and more people are arriving in Cameroon,” adding, “It is urgent that all humanitarian actors act with immediate effect. These refugees need security, food, shelter, access to drinking water and emergency medical care.”

An estimated 22,000 Central Africans have fled to Cameroon so far this year, the MSF report said.

The Central African Republic has been facing deadly unrest since December 2013, when Christian armed groups launched coordinated attacks against the mostly Muslim Seleka group that toppled the government in March 2013.

Last month, violence in the African country reportedly claimed over 1,000 lives.

Some 2,000 French troops, supported by a 6,000-strong African Union force known as MISCA, are currently deployed to the Central African Republic. The foreign forces have so far failed to curb the violence.

On February 25, French lawmakers approved the extension of France’s military intervention in the Central African Republic beyond April.