Attachments
Highlights
- The security situation in Bamingui-Bangoran has worsened in recent weeks, marked by the killing of a UN peacekeeper near Zobassinda on 11 February. Due to ongoing insecurity, including robberies and kidnappings by armed groups, humanitarian actors have suspended their movements along main roads. This suspension is further restricting humanitarian access to Sudanese refugees in Zobassinda, Koundi, and Akoursoulback.
- In Vakaga, near the Sudanese border, security has deteriorated. On 13 February, three armed men attempted to rob a UNHCR vehicle loaned to an NGO partner near the Korsi refugee neighborhood in Birao. Another NGO mission in Birao was intercepted and robbed by unidentified armed bandits, highlighting the growing risks for civilians and humanitarian workers.
- Insecurity in Vakaga has reduced movement along key routes, leading to rising market prices as traders avoid travel, affecting both refugees and host communities. Despite improved road conditions in the dry season, instability continues to limit humanitarian access. In response, military patrols have resumed, and protection actors have intensified monitoring, with community-based protection mechanisms playing a key role.
Population Movement and Registration
The conflict in Sudan continues to drive refugee arrivals into CAR, with 3,506 new Sudanese refugees (1,279 households) arriving in Birao over the past two weeks. The average weekly arrival rate in February has risen to 872, a three-fold increase compared to January. The population in Korsi, Birao, has now reached 21,076 people (8,681 households), with women and girls making up 54 per cent of the population (11,558 individuals).
The sharp increase in arrivals is primarily driven by intensified airstrikes in Nyala, Darfur, where most refugees originate. Additionally, improved road conditions during the dry season have facilitated transportation along the border. However, refugees continue to face significant challenges in their journey to CAR, as non-state armed groups are blocking key routes, forcing them to take longer and more dangerous paths to safety.
In Akroussoulbak and Koundi, Bamingui-Bangoran region, 117 new refugees (45 households)—mostly women and children—have arrived following clashes between Sudanese armed forces and non-state armed groups. These newly arrived refugees are in urgent need of shelter, food, and other essential services.
Over the past two weeks, UNHCR and the National Commission for Refugees (CNR) have conducted biometric registration for 1,330 individuals (502 households) in Korsi. Among those registered, 116 individuals with specific needs were identified, including unaccompanied and separated children, women at risk, older persons, people with disabilities, individuals with serious medical conditions, and single parents.
On 13 February, CNR, in coordination with UNHCR and its partner Comité International pour l'Aide d'Urgence et le Développement (CIAUD), relocated 61 Sudanese asylum seekers from Bossangoa in the Ouham Prefecture to Korsi, Birao in the Vakaga region, where they can access basic services. This relocation was made possible with logistical support from MINUSCA, which provided the aircraft for transportation.