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The prefecture of Vakaga is experiencing an influx of internally displaced persons from the locality of Sam-Ouandja. The refugees, mostly women and children, fled the activism of armed groups in Vakaga (north-east) . According to the prefectural authorities, at least 49 households, or more than 300 people, arrived from the Sam-Ouandja area, located regarding 200 km south of Birao. Hapsita Fadoul is one of the hundreds of women who have found refuge in tents erected urgently by peacekeepers from the Zambian contingent of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (Minusca). She claimed to have walked eight days with her three children to return to Birao. “Armed people came to attack Sam-Ouandja. They were shooting everywhere and we had to flee with our children. We have no weapons to defend ourselves. You know, the weapon doesn’t choose someone. We weren’t even able to take our belongings before fleeing. We arrived here and find ourselves homeless, without anything to eat and drink. Really, we are suffering,” she said. The prefect of Vakaga says he measures the extent of the situation and assures that measures are being taken to ensure that these displaced people are safe. “We received them like human beings, not to say like Central Africans. We took them to safety. We had a meeting with all the NGOs and Minusca, we are looking for a way to put them at ease,” said Leonard Mbele. At the end of an emergency meeting convened by the head of the Minusca office in Birao on February 16, 2022, the humanitarian actors operating in the Vakaga felt that it was imperative to quickly address the situation. Thus the World Food Program (WFP) immediately announced a one-off distribution of food in order to allow these displaced people to have enough to eat, while waiting for a lasting solution to be found. “Together with the prefect, we are organizing ourselves to see how to support these people. There is already coordination between the WFP, ACTED and the other humanitarian actors to first identify the people arriving and determine what their needs are. A UNDP and UNHCR mission rushed to Birao to assess the lasting situation of these displaced people. It is in this context that we have this influx,” said the head of the Minusca office in Birao, Bessan Vikou, adding that the Minusca is thinking regarding a strategy to avoid any overflow.

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