Geneva, Jan 3 (IANS) The deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) has displaced over 935,000 civilians and the humanitarian situation remains dire in the country, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement Friday.
“Targeted attacks against civilians, looting and the presence of armed elements at some displacement sites have severely limited humanitarian agencies’ access to those in need of urgent assistance,” Xinhua quoted Unhcr spokesperson Babar Baloch as saying.
He added that over 51,000 refugees have taken shelter in 67 sites in the capital Bangui, or were living with host families.
Despite the increasing difficulties to reach the displaced civilians, UNHCR has provided tents, blankets and other relief items to 23,000 people from over 4,600 households since Dec 5, 2013.
Since March last year, some 75,000 refugees have fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Chad and Cameroon. By December, as many as 240,000 refugees left the conflict-ridden country.