New York - Some 3 000 people surrounded and threatened by armed groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) are to be evacuated by humanitarian groups and international forces, says United Nations spokesperson Martin Nesirky.
Humanitarian players and international forces "are finalising the evacuation plan for 3 000 internally displaced people trapped in the PK12 neighbourhood of the capital, Bangui, and who are at risk of massacre," Nesirky said at a media briefing at UN Head Quarters in New York on Thursday.
He was quoting information from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Nesirky added that these people were mainly elderly people and children.
Earlier this week, the UN Refugee Agency warned that more than 15 000 people in 18 locations in the northwest and southwest of the CAR were being surrounded and threatened by armed groups.
Thousands of people are feared to have been killed in the conflict in the CAR, which erupted when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels launched attacks in December 2012 and which has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones as mainly Christian militias known as anti-Balaka (anti-machete) have taken up arms.
The OCHA warned that despite some progress on improved hygiene and water supply, those displaced people, especially those in flood-prone areas, needed emergency shelter support and basic household goods, particularly ahead of the rainy season.
In the past weeks, the World Food Programme has been able to resume assistance in greater Bangui, the national capital of the CAR, thanks to the arrival of convoys carrying more food supplies, Nesirky said. – SAnews.gov.za-NNN-XINHUA
