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DR Congo + 3 more

West and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (9 - 15 May 2017)

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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

HUNDREDS DISPLACED BY BANGASSOU ATTACK

Following an armed attack on 13 May in the south-eastern Bangassou town in which an unknown number of civilians were killed one UN peacekeeper died, around 1,000 people have taken refuge at a local mosque, unable to venture out due to threats of attack.
Another 1,500 have fled to the Cathedral of Bangassou and 500 others have taken refuge in a hospital. The parish of Tokoyo also hosts an unknown number of displaced people. An unknown number of people have crossed the border into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Insecurity still prevents humanitarian actors from traveling around Bangassou to conduct assessments or provide assistance.

CLASHES UPROOT 9,000 IN ALINDAO

Clashes between armed groups on 8 and 9 May in Alindao area in Basse Kotto prefecture have displaced more than 9,000 peopled. Up to 3,000 people were already displaced before the latest violence. Health assistance is being provided. Humanitarian organisations are working on ways to meet other needs.

CHAD

RAINS DESTROY SHELTERS AT SITE FOR RETURNEES

Torrential rains on 6 and 8 May destroyed more than half of 425 shelters at a locality in southern Chad. The destruction will worsen the already tough living conditions in the site which hosts 1,528 returnees. The rainy season has just started, but destruction has been reported in several areas in southern Chad.

CURFEW IMPOSED OVER RISING INSECURITY

Several criminal incidents (mostly road attacks by armed men on commercial and humanitarian vehicles) have been reported in eastern Chad recently. On 2 May, a curfew was imposed in Wadi-Fira region from 9 pm to 5 am.

DR CONGO

EBOLA ERUPTS IN BAS-UELE PROVINCE

Health authorities on 11 May reported an Ebola outbreak in Likati health district in the northern Bas-Uélé province. Nine suspected cases and three deaths have been reported in the areas since 22 April. The authorities and WHO are deploying personnel and equipment to contain the outbreak. An initial team of epidemiologists and other experts have already been sent to the area. This is the country’s eighth Ebola epidemic since 1976. The last one was in August 2014 in Boende region of the northern Tshuapa province.

NIGERIA

ALERT OVER DRC EBOLA OUTBREAK

Following the eruption of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the federal ministry of health issued a nationwide alert on 14 May, calling for increased vigilance and monitoring at major borders and ports.

All cases of fevers are to be reported to public health officials for diagnosis. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control will deploy rapid response teams to strategic locations. An Ebola outbreak was declared in Nigeria in 2014 after some health workers contracted the virus from a Liberian who flew into Lagos.

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