HIGHLIGHTS - Ex- and former presidents of CAR signal support for the country’s peace process - Demonstrations in Ouaka Prefecture’s Bambari town in mid-February result in six deaths - Humanitarian organizations continue to provide IDPs in Batangafo town, Ouham Prefecture, with emergency relief supplies
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- UNHCR reported on February 24 that increased violence in CAR had forcibly displaced nearly 50,000 people since the start of the year, including an estimated 30,000 IDPs and more than 19,200 people who fled to neighboring Equateur Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to UNHCR, approximately 2,400 refugees, primarily children, have arrived in the area of Mobayi-Mbongo town in DRC since February 15 following violence by ex-Séléka fighters in Haute-Kotto Prefecture’s capital of Bria in eastern CAR.
- CAR’s ex-President Francois Bozizé and former Interim President Michel Djotodia have expressed support for the country’s peace and reconciliation process, international media reported on February 26. Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso—who is leading international efforts advocating for peace in CAR—has indicated support in favor of the proposed Bozizé and Djotodia compromise, which could potentially influence the ex- Séléka and anti-Balaka armed groups toward a sustained ceasefire, according to media.