Central African Republic

The six Red Cross volunteers were taking part in a crisis meeting at a health facility in the south east of the Central African Republic on August 3, 2017. The exact circumstances are not yet clear; however, reports indicate that civilians and medical staff may also have been killed.

Escalating numbers of attacks and extortion attempts against humanitarian aid workers in the Central African Republic (CAR) are threatening the provision of essential medical services for people in desperate need, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today.

At least 22 people, including 15 local chiefs and three members of staff of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, were killed in an attack on Nanga Boguila, a town about 280 miles north of the capital Bangui, officials said on Sunday. Some 2,000 French and over 5,000 African peacekeepers are struggling to halt waves of violence that have gripped the country over the last 18 months. Gilles Xavier Nguembassa, a former member of parliament for the area, said four people were killed as the assailants approached the town but most died when Seleka rebels went to an Doctors Without Borders-run health clinic in search of money.

Throughout 2013, international humanitarian actors have faced major challenges responding to conflicts and natural disasters across the globe. Tens of thousands of people died in Syria and millions were displaced while international actors struggled to get access to desperate people.

Government and armed rebel forces in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital of Bangui have continued to engage in conflict since December 5, with civilians caught in the crossfire—nearly 400 have been killed since Thursday. Having operated in CAR since 2007, International Medical Corps’ local teams are monitoring ongoing developments and are responding to the escalating humanitarian crisis by delivering vital health care services.