Displaced Central Africans seek aid after Am-Dafock fighting

Families displaced by fighting near the Central African Republic's border with Sudan are sheltering in difficult conditions in Birao, where they say they need food, medicine, water, latrines and better shelter.

Zakaria Hassan fled with his children and a few belongings after clashes broke out in Am-Dafock, a town on the Central African Republic side of the border. His eight-month-old son was ill with a high temperature, and Hassan said he had no medicine for him. Hassan said rebels arrived firing and houses were burning, leading his family to leave the nearby village of Agroumaye for Birao, about 60 kilometres away.

The source says the strategic border area regularly faces incursions by armed groups on both sides. On June 30, fighters from the Alliance for Patriotic Renewal, a Central African rebel group that includes foreign mercenaries, launched an assault on the country's armed forces at Am-Dafock in northeastern Central African Republic.

People who reached Birao found safety but little support. They settled near a camp that has hosted thousands of Sudanese refugees for months. Those refugees fled the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been going on since April 2023. Hassan said rain soaks the shelters, food is limited, and children are becoming sick.

Other displaced people described similar conditions. Nassir, a man in his twenties who also fled the Am-Dafock attack, said his older brother had long-term knee problems, struggled to walk during the flight, and had not received care since arriving. Nassir said he fled because he feared being killed or forced to join the rebels.

No official death toll has been released for the Am-Dafock clashes. People who escaped described shooting, fires and people scattered along roads as they fled. One person, speaking anonymously, said they saw people falling and ran without looking back.

On Tuesday, the special criminal court for the Central African Republic said it would carry out a preliminary assessment with a view to opening an investigation into the attack.

Nearly 22,000 Sudanese refugees had already arrived in Birao before the latest displaced people came. William Chemaly, the UN refugee agency's representative in the Central African Republic, said the situation was worrying and that displaced people needed shelter, food and medicine. He said a return to calm was most important so civilians would no longer be at risk.

After the clashes, authorities increased security in Birao, supported by the UN mission in the Central African Republic. Regional governor Thierry Evariste Binguinendji, who visited Am-Dafock this week, said the fighting had caused much destruction but that the town was now secure. He said the government was continuing to deploy soldiers in several border areas.

Hassan said the military presence was reassuring, but not enough. He said families still needed care, food and a place where children could live.