Et af Afrikas fattigste og normalt mest glemte lande, Den Centralafrikanske Republik nord for DR Congo, er gerådet ud i om muligt endnu større kaos efter at oprørere har indtaget hovedstaden – de humanitære følger for civilbefolkningen er uoverskuelige.
BANGUI, 25 March 2013 (IRIN): A rebel-led weekend coup in the Central African Republic (CAR) took place against a backdrop (kulisse) of worsening humanitarian conditions in many parts of the country, with access to affected populations severely restricted.
The Séléka rebel group overran the capital, Bangui, on 24 March, putting President François Bozizé to flight and naming Michel Djotodjia as the new head of state.
“With all offices and most stores looted it will be difficult to evaluate needs. Bangui has no electricity or water. We need to have security and for the population to stop looting,” Amy Martin, who heads the Bangui branch of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told IRIN on 25 March.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the “unconstitutional seizure” and called “for the swift restoration of constitutional order.”
“UN and NGO staff are concentrated in the UN compound. We are expected to evacuate staff, non-essential [staff], as the security is not in place and looting continues, with sporadic gunfire in the streets,” said Martin.
“All remain very uncertain and unpredictable”
A few days before the coup, Amy Martin told IRIN: “In general, the political and security environment is deteriorating as the Libreville Agreements [a peace accord signed on 11 January] are not gaining any traction (kommet i omdrejninger).”
“The agreed conditions are not being respected by either side: release [by the government] of prisoners, the quartering of armed forces by Séléka. There are more rumours of additional former rebel groups to join the Séléka coalition. All remain very uncertain and unpredictable,” she said.
On 20 March, the UN Security Council condemned Séléka attacks in the area of Bangassou and the surrounding region, “and the threat of a resumption of hostilities.”
“Séléka now controls three-quarters of the country,” said Margaret Vogt, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for CAR, several days before the capture of Bangui.
She added that rebel members of the government of national unity – which parties agreed to form in the January peace deal – had decided to withdraw from the government and had gone “back into the bush”.
The rebels had issued an ultimatum, threatening to resume fighting if their conditions – including the release of political prisoners and the withdrawal of foreign soldiers – were not met (Frankrig har sendt 350 soldater til landet, red.).
Humanitarian access limited
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97721/CAR-coup-comes-amid-deepening-humanitarian-crisis
Se også en dansk vurdering på stedet om”større fattigdom og mere kaos” på
http://flygtning.dk/nyheder-og-presse/nyhed/artikel/oejenvidne-der-hersker-kaos-i-afrikansk-land-efter-kup
