NAN-F-17
Withdrawal
Johannesburg, May 5, 2017 (dpa/NAN) The UN says four aid agencies are withdrawing from northern Central African Republic (CAR) in the wake of 33 attacks targeting humanitarian organisations across the country this year.
No deaths or serious injuries have occurred, but “the attacks against NGO bases usually result in theft of computer materials and money.
“Humanitarian agencies have experienced 16 attacks since March in the Ouham prefecture,” Yaye Sene, spokesperson at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.
OCHA said that as a result, Solidarites International, Intersos, Danish Church Aid and Person in Need Relief Mission have said they are withdrawing from the northern town of Kabo, located in Ouham.
OCHA said that the agencies will suspend their activities until security improves in the country.
“The diamond-rich nation has seen its security situation deteriorate since late 2012, when inter-religious violence broke out between Muslim and Christian rebel groups.
“The attacks against aid agencies “are perpetrated by individuals who are not necessarily linked to armed groups, but who profit from the climate of insecurity.
“Any suspension of humanitarian activities will inevitably have a negative impact on those who depend on aid,” the organisation said.
According to the UN, some 2.2 million people – approximately half of CAR’s population are estimated to be in need of humanitarian relief. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Sadiya Hamza