BANGUI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Violence in Central African Republic has uprooted nearly a million people, a fifth of the population, and is hampering aid efforts, particularly in the capital Bangui, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
A flare-up in violence between Muslim fighters and Christian militias has displaced more than 200,000 people in the past few weeks alone, leaving a total of 935,000 homeless.
A Muslim rebel group, the Seleka, unleashed a wave of killing and looting after seizing power in March, and the deployment of 1,600 French and nearly 4,000 African Union peacekeepers has done little to contain the tit-for-tat violence between religious communities.
In the riverside capital alone, more than 510,000 people are displaced - equivalent to more than half the city's population, UNHCR said. Just over half of them are children.
The number of people sheltering at a makeshift camp at the international airport has doubled in the past week to 100,000. The site lacks proper access to food or water but access for humanitarian groups has been restricted by fierce fighting in nearby neighbourhoods.
"Insecurity and chaos around the site...prevents us from doing any distribution," UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch told a news conference in Geneva. "It's a horrible situation. We have heard a lot about revenge attacks happening inside health centres, where armed elements have gone and attacked patients."
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said it was cutting services to a minimum at its airport clinic after stray bullets killed three children and injured 40 people this week.
"We are not going to continue to put the lives of our personnel at risk," Lindis Hurum, its coordinator at the site, told Reuters. "A team composed of five of our 16 doctors will be left in place for cases of extreme emergency."
Many of the displaced and injured inside the airport camp voiced fear that they were being abandoned.
"I owe my life today - like hundreds of others here - to MSF. But with this suspension of their activities, it will be a massacre," said Saint Cyr Lamaka, one of the wounded receiving treatment.
The United Nations is seeking $152 million for a 100-day emergency plan to tackle humanitarian needs inside Central African Republic. Some 240,000 refugees have fled to neighbouring countries.
Chad, to the north, has stepped up evacuation of its citizens, many of whom are being targeted by Christian militia who accuse them of links to the Seleka.
Some 12,000 Chadians have been repatriated in recent days on emergency flights and using land convoys, the International Organisation for Migration said. Qasim Sufi, head of its mission in Chad, said transit centres were struggling to cope, and the number of returnees was expected to rise very quickly.
Peacekeepers in Central African Republic are struggling to impose calm in a country the size of France. In Bossangoa, some 300 km (190 miles) north of Bangui, a Reuters photographer accompanying French troops on patrol saw the body of a Muslim, killed by Christian youths, lying beside a dirt path.
The abandoned homes of local Christians burned unattended after Muslims threw grenades at them. Most of the town's Christian population have long since left their homes to move into a camp by the town church, housing some 40,000 people.
In neighbouring Cameroon, meanwhile, two soldiers were killed on Thursday at a border village when unidentified gunmen from Central African Republic attacked a military outpost, state radio said. Five of the gunmen were also killed. (Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva and Andreea Campeanu in Bossangoa; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.