HIGHLIGHTS
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UNHCR and partners respond to new internal displacement in the Central African Republic (CAR) following attacks from armed groups in the east.
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An early-warning system is being envisaged in southern Chad to anticipate future population movements from CAR.
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In light of the critical funding situation, reduction in CAR refugees’ food assistance continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) despite several cases of malnutrition in camps.
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In Cameroon, biometric registration of urban refugees is completed in the capital Yaoundé and ongoing in the city of Douala.
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Central Africans continue to cross into the Republic of Congo, with an average of 30 new arrivals being reported every week.
Operational Context
In the Central African Republic (CAR), following the 30 December 2015 presidential vote, the National Election Authority announced early January that former Prime Ministers Anicet Georges Dologuélé and Faustin-Archange Touadéra came first and second, respectively. With no absolute majority, both were scheduled to run in the second round on 14 February. The electoral period and the increasing patrolling of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), in Bangui and inside the country, have led to a significant improvement in the overall security situation.
However, insecurity in hotspots, fueled by armed groups’ activities, transhumance-related tensions and intercommunal violence, continues to put local communities at risk (see map) and to challenge the delivery of humanitarian services. The proximity of operating areas to the hotspots means that UNHCR has to operate in an environment where violence and associated security risks are a regular occurrence. Parts of the working areas are subject to UN-security restrictions, which allows for critical missions only. Tensions and clashes in and around these areas often disrupt UNHCR operations.