Fear grips Central African Republic's 2nd city as conflict and renewed violence draw closer to Bambari
People waiting in front of the MSF’s Bambari General Hospital, CAR, after on May 8, a massacre in Alindao compelled people to flee.
"Will Bambari be next?" This is the question on everyone’s lips in Central African Republic (CAR)’s 2nd city and commercial hub. Its residents worry that the violence absorbing the cities of Bangassou and Bria since early May in the form of brutal massacres could soon spread to Bambari, with a repetition of the bloodshed of the 2013-14 war.
The Ouaka Sea splits Bambari city in two, with one part being predominantly Christian, the other mainly Muslim. The town has been silent over latest months, with its numerous ethnic and religious groups living relatively peacefully, side by side. In February, the United Nations (UN) stabilization mission, MINUSCA, announced Bambari a “city without arms”, strengthening the perception of it as a safe area for those fleeing violence elsewhere in the country. However, presently a fifty per cent of Bambari’s residents have been displaced from their homes in other parts of CAR.
Of the 55,869 displaced people, Ten,300 have arrived in Bambari since mid-March, most are living in nine camps that ring the city. These are improvised settlements without running water, tens unit or basic health services – conditions that breed diseases and raise the risk of epidemics.
The displaced people, along with Bambari’s longterm residents, rely for medical care on the city’s hospital, which is supported by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Another MSF team supports two health centres, one in the Christian part of the city, the other in the Muslim area.
Bambari’s peaceful has recently been shaken by events nearby. On May 8, a massacre took place in Alindao, a town one hundred twenty km away, during which one hundred thirty three people were killed and entire neighbourhoods were burned to the ground. This triggered a resurgence of violence in Alindao and led to the town’s population leaving for Bambari.
‘I thought I had died’, a patient’s story
MSF teams in Bambari treated twenty two people for violence-related injuries in May, in contrast to just eight in April. Four children were among the wounded from Alindao treated by MSF, including a three-year-old who had been shot in the face. “He lost most of his lower lip due to a gunshot and has a severe infection,” says MSF referent medical Nicole Hart.
Most of those injured in Alindao had gunshot wounds, but some had knife injuries and burns. “I attended a man whose mouth had been cut,” says Hart. “He had spent two days in the forest near Alindao before being brought to Bambari. The look on his face was utter of fright. We operated him and he is now leisurely recovering.”
Speaking from his hospital bed, Anga describes the attack: “As I was lounging on the ground, protecting myself from the shooting, a man approached me, lifted my head and cut my mouth with a knife. I thought I had died, but it seems that a part of my mouth was saved and I continued breathing.”
“Another youthful chick had most of her assets burned,” says Hart. “She was locked up with her family in her house and they set the house on fire. Sadly she passed away some days ago.”
Malnutrition and Malaria in increase due to conflict
With the influx of displaced people, MSF teams are also eyeing enlargening numbers of sick patients. “The health centre in the Muslim part is located next to a field where displaced Fulani people [a Muslim group] are living, and presently we are providing one hundred twenty consultations each morning,” says MSF outreach nurse Andrea Blas. “We are eyeing a considerable increase in cases of malnutrition, diarrhea and malaria.”
The number of people with severe acute malnutrition seen by MSF teams in Elevage Health Centre, in the Muslim area of the city, enhanced from three fresh cases in January to seventeen situations in May, while patients with moderate malnutrition enhanced from thirty six in January to one hundred twenty six in May.
Bambari may be peaceful at present, but no one knows how long it will last.
“After the incidents in Alindao, people are increasingly worried,” says MSF project coordinator Cédric Chapon. “Instability has already affected most of the major cities, with the exception of Bambari. But people are afraid. Even if it’s peaceful inbetween the two communities at present, there’s the risk that any puny criminal incident could be interpreted as an act of provocation, which could kindle a wave of violence inbetween the communities in Bambari.”
