Several civilians injured in violent clashes in CAR

By Rodrigue Forku

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AA) - Several civilians, including women and children, were injured in violent clashes in the town of Bambari in the Central African Republic.

In a statement late Monday, Doctors Without Borders said a medical center was hit by bullets and explosives amidst violent clashes in Bambari on Feb. 15 and 16.

Fighting between a coalition of non-state armed groups and government forces continued over the past two months, plunging the Central African country into a new cycle of violence.

Bambari, in the Ouaka prefecture, has been the epicenter of fighting, and MSF said it has treated 111 wounded patients.

“The current humanitarian crisis in Bambari and across the country is dreadful and violence affecting civilians has to stop,” Marcella Kraay, MSF’s deputy head of mission, said.

“The Central African population has already suffered so much, and what we saw last week was yet another example of the toll of violence on the population, including women and children, with bullet and shrapnel wounds,” she added.

Kraay said constant tensions and fighting deeply impact already vulnerable and traumatized people hard-hit by years of civil war.

At least 100,000 are displaced within the country by the latest violence. Another 107,000 fled to neighboring countries -- Cameroon, Chad, and DR Congo -- according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.