After armed criminals trepassed on Friday the 26th of May on our Kaga Bandoro base (Nana Gribizi prefecture) and due to the violence against its teams during the holdup, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is suspending its activities in the area indefinitely.
This incident follows a series of attacks against civilian populations and international organizations in the recent past. More than 30 incidents against the NGO have been collated since the beginning of 2017 in the prefectures of Ouham and Nana Gribizi over 92 incidents collated on the same period in the country. Present in those two prefectures, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL teams have been particularly exposed to this escalation of violence.
For the third time since October 2016, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has had to cease its activities in the region, every time after a criminal attack against its national and expatriate teams. This incident in Kaga Bandoro reached new heights. Humanitarian teams are trained to face difficult situations and usually armed attacks do not lead to physical aggressions. “Violence against our teams was the burglars’ first option. Every time the incident is more serious than the one before. This time it is clearly unacceptable,” claims Emmanuel Moy, Head of Mission for SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL in Central African Republic.
SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is in CAR to provide vulnerable populations with assistance. But because of the danger threatening its teams, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL would not consider to restart its activities in the Kaga Bandro area unless the organization considers the conditions are favourable for its teams to come back.
“The Central African crisis is re-intensifying in some areas. The population needs increase while the humanitarian response was already under-funded. And what we can do with the funds we have is often stopped due to security reasons. We cannot work like this, it has to change,” says Emmanuel Moy. International forces have the responsibility to protect civilians, including aid workers. Means must be provided and actions must be taken for a return to a safe environment. Only then will populations be able to receive the humanitarian aid they need to survive.