December 14, 2024 21:14 (IST)

Make this your homepage

Foreign

Pushpa 2 stampede: Allu Arjun walks out of jail, actor's lawyer slams delay in release | Donald Trump intends to end 'inconvenient' and 'very costly' Daylight Saving Time | Suchir Balaji: Indian-origin former OpenAI researcher found dead at US apartment | Bengaluru techie suicide: Karnataka Police issues summons to wife Nikita, her family members | French President Macron appoints centrist leader Francois Bayrou as new Prime Minister | Congress always prioritised personal interest over Constitution: Rajnath Singh | Jaishankar calls attack on Hindus in Bangladesh 'a source of concern' | Allu Arjun arrested over woman's death in stampede during Pushpa 2 premiere show | RBI receives bomb threat in Russian language, case filed | UP teenager kills mother, lives with body for 5 days

After deadly attack, UN urges safety for displaced in CAR

India Blooms News Service | | Apr 30, 2014, at 06:13 pm

#Central African Republic # United nations # safety for displaced

New York, Apr 30 (IBNS): At least two people were killed and six others injured in the Central African Republic (CAR) after an attack on an 18-truck humanitarian convoy relocating 1,300 Muslims to safety in the country's north, a spokesperson for the United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday confirmed, renewing calls for protection of displaced people.

“The convoy, heading for Kabo and Moyen in the north, was hit by a grenade believed to have been thrown by anti-balaka militiamen,” UNHCR spokesperson Fatoumata Lejeune told journalists in Geneva, referring to Monday’s attack believed to have been carried out by the mostly Christian armed group.

The anti-balaka, which translates as “machete proof,” are fighting mostly Muslim Séléka rebels who led a 2012 coup. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and 2.2 million are in desperate need of humanitarian aid.

“UNHCR condemns the attack and offers its condolences to the victims’ families. It underscores the need to provide physical protection to displaced communities at risk,” said Lejeune.

According to information from the UN agency, the 18-truck convoy was moving people previously trapped in the troubled PK 12 neighbourhood of the war-torn capital, Bangui, where they fled to escape inter-communal violence.

However, PK 12 later came under threat, leaving the displaced in constant fear of attacks without enough food and living in squalid conditions because of lack of sanitation facilities. The move came at the request of the people themselves. This was the second relocation operation from PK 12, following the movement of 93 people, including 35 children, to Bambari on April 20.

The convoy has since continued its journey to Kaga Bandoro, where injured received medical assistance.

“A UNHCR team accompanying the convoy reported that three babies have so far been born during the journey,” said Lejeune.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.