Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Central African Republic
Displaced people wait for food distribution in the town of Boda, Central African Republic. Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
Displaced people wait for food distribution in the town of Boda, Central African Republic. Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

UN seeks £163m in aid for CAR refugees

This article is more than 9 years old
Nearly 200,000 people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries amid sectarian violence in Central African Republic

The United Nations and aid groups have launched an appeal for £163m to help people fleeing the conflict in the Central African Republic.

Since December nearly 200,000 people have sought refuge from sectarian violence in neighbouring countries, and the UN refugee agency said that figure was expected to rise to more than 360,000 by the end of the year. Another 600,000 people are displaced inside the Central African Republic.

"The mainly women and children fleeing atrocities in CAR are arriving in neighbouring countries deeply traumatised, many wounded by machete or gunshot, malnourished and exhausted from weeks of walking and hiding," the agency said.

Antonio Guterres, the UN high commissioner for refugees, told diplomats in Geneva: "All the agencies working in the region are dramatically underfunded." He said his agency was already spending three times as much as it had received so far. "This cannot be sustained," he said.

Last week the UN security council authorised a nearly 12,000-strong peacekeeping force to bolster French and African Union troops who have been deployed to protect civilians throughout the country.

The money sought by the UN refugee agency and 14 other humanitarian organisations will be used to pay for shelter, food, water, sanitation, healthcare, education and other basic needs.

Most viewed

Most viewed