2014-02-07 11:17:49

U.S. supports stability in Central African Republic, world’s ‘worst forgotten crisis’


(Vatican Radio) Close to one million people, or a quarter of the Central African Republic’s population, have been displaced by ongoing conflict. The United Nations says more than 2,000 people have been killed in clashes between mostly Muslim Seleka rebels and security forces and Christian self-defense groups.

Seleka's 10-month occupation of cities and towns across the country has been marked by rampant looting, torture and murder. The deep resentment they spawned among the Christian majority has led to the formation of Christian "anti-balaka" militias seeking retaliation.

The presence of 1,600 French soldiers and 5,000 African troops has so far failed to stop the tit-for-tat violence.

Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has recently returned from a trip to the Central African Republic, also known as CAR. She told Tracey McClure “it is gripped by a very serious spiral of conflict that is critical that we stop. And it’s on top of deep, deep poverty in CAR.”

Listen to Tracey McClure's brief interview with Nancy Lindborg: RealAudioMP3

Lindborg explains the conflict started with a coup “that enabled fighters from some of the neighboring countries to come in, basically as mercenaries. What this all speaks to is the importance of getting a viable, legitimate government back into place,” she says. “ And we have a ray of hope with the appointment of the new interim president.”

Lindborg began her visit in the capital, Bangui, at a camp for people displaced by the violence. “Out of a capital city of about half a million,” she says, “a fifth are huddled in a miserable camp where people have fled for safety - so they’ve left their homes in the city of Bangui and they’re all huddled in this camp. There’s an urgency to improve security so they can go home and do so before the rains come in April which will put half that camp under water.”

“We’re hearing a lot that this is a conflict between the Muslim and Christian communities. What I heard from most people while I was there, was that there’s a long history of religious tolerance in this country. So what started as a political fight, from decades of corrupt and incompetent leaders, has now moved into what is starting to look more and more like a religious conflict. The opportunity and the imperative is to stop that now before it continues to spiral into even greater atrocities.”

Given the ongoing violence, lack of security and rampant corruption, Lindborg says the most urgent need is to stabilize the country. “The United States quickly put a little over one hundred million dollars to support both the African Union troops who have come in as well as the French troops. In addition to that, we have contributed 45 million dollars in urgent humanitarian assistance. But we’ve also put down additional support, about 7.5 million, for reconciliation and community based programs to help communities talk to one another, especially across the Christian-Muslim divide – so that they can move forward, start to repair what is beginning to be some troubling, deep divisions.” She explains the aim is to “create a community based foundation for a more peaceful future.”

“The problem with the Central African Republic is that it has topped the list of everybody’s worst forgotten crisis for several decades. The most urgent need is to stabilize, meet the humanitarian needs, and then to work on a longer term development agenda, at the heart of which will have legitimate, inclusive democratic governance - or all of our development investments will continue to be reversed every few years with more conflict. So, the United States is definitely committed to working in support of the regional actors who’ve come together on this issue and our development partners, and most notably the French, who of course have taken the step of deploying troops on the ground.”








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