At least 30,000 Central Africans have fled their country since the 27 December presidential elections, and sought refuge in Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville.
Following clashes between the army and rebel groups in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says close to 5,000 CAR refugees have fled to eastern Cameroon.
The agency says that at least 500 Central African refugees enter Cameroon every day. As of December last year, Cameroon was host to over 316,000 CAR refugees.
Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, who was in Garoua-Boulaii over the weekend to assess the situation, worries that the influx of refugees could constitute a security risk.
A voluntary repatriation process was already underway, but the recent spike in violence in the country means that process has to be stalled while the new wave of refugees means more pressure will be put on scarce resources.
Rebels under the Coalition of Patriots for Change, who now control two thirds of the territory, have overrun several key towns in CAR as they mobilise towards the capital, Bangui, following the December elections, which they rejected.
Cesar Tshilombo who is the deputy country representative of the UNHCR in Cameroon says the new arrivals have been reporting cases of abuse, looting and violence.
