from OMAN MBIKO in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR)
CAR Bureau
BANGUI, (CAJ News) – NO less than 506 people have been killed in recurrent violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) this year.
This is a continuation of volatility for the decade, riddled by a crisis which ignited in 2012 with a violent takeover of power by rebel groups.
The crisis has developed into a complex protracted state of permanent insecurity and fragility which has spilled over into neighbouring countries.
Apart from the deaths, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reports that this triggered significant displacement of populations in the seven affected countries.
The crisis is characterised by power struggles among elites, the absence of state institutions and public investment, religious and ethnic tensions and disputes for the control of key resources.
As of 22 August 2022, IOM reported that more than 3,348 million individuals were displaced.
About 20 percent of the uprooted population is displaced within CAR.
Refugees from the CAR are primarily hosted by Cameroon (47 percent of refugees), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (28 percent) and Chad (17 percent).
A series of autocratic leaders has ruled CAR since independence from France in 1960.
The current democracy administration of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has struggled to exert control.
– CAJ News