BETOKO, 22 February (IRIN) - The insurgency against the government of Gen François Bozize has brought untold suffering to civilians in the northwestern Ouham-Pende province of Central African Republic (CAR).

"I was raped by a Chadian soldier in Betoko when our village was raided," 21-year-old Celine Nadima said. "Four other girls were raped on the same day. I became a mother a few months later."

Betoko lies 21km from the Chadian border and 45km north of Paoua town where Bozize's presidential guards killed 104 civilians on 29 January 2006 in a clash with "armed bands".

Initially, the CAR government dismissed the insurgency in the northwest as the work of bandits. The CAR army said it was a low-intensity war launched by civilians with no formal military training. But with no let-up in the attacks, Prime Minister Elie Doté acknowledged the existence of a rebellion in the region in March 2006.

The acknowledgement brought a response. Upon realising that the insurgency was expanding, the government deployed the elite presidential guards to the area, with backing from Chadian forces.

A high-ranking CAR army officer, who requested anonymity, defended the involvement of the Chadians, telling IRIN: "The CAR and Chad have signed an agreement authorising the armies of the two countries to hunt rebels across the border."

However, another CAR military officer, in an interview on 16 February 2007, in the town of Bossangoa, said: "The crossing of the border by Chadian soldiers is unfair."

Over the past year, the hitherto insignificant skirmishes have blossomed into a full-scale insurgency and spurred a humanitarian crisis in a region where Bozize, in October 2002, began the revolt that eventually toppled President Ange-Félix Patassé.

"On 10 July 2006, a group of Chadian soldiers came to our village. They fired randomly at the villagers, wounding some. Other villagers ran and hid in the bush. Many young people were captured and beaten by the raiders," Nadima explained.

"I am lucky I did not have any problems during childbirth as I was beaten and raped when I was pregnant," she added.

Little is known about the attackers, but residents said they were Bozize's opponents who wanted to undermine his authority because he overthrew a legitimate government in March 2003, mismanaged public funds and divided the nation.

Local civilians say the guards burnt down many villages on allegations that local residents hid rebels who are their relatives.

"I was tied up like a goat for two days without food and water. I was later freed as one of the Chadian soldiers who knew me pleaded for my release," said 32-year-old Florent Dolomgoto.

"They carried bags of millet, groundnuts and cassava and drove a herd of cattle away after the attack," he added.

Border crossings

Angry that Chadian soldiers cross the border into the CAR and harass them, local villagers say it is an unfair strategy. But the Chadians tell the villagers they do so to flush out rebels.

Aid organisations in the area have been advocating for the restoration of security in the region, saying security was needed to improve living conditions for civilians who seek safety in the bush.

A recent report by CAR's National Red Cross, CARE, World Vision and Human Rights Watch on the humanitarian situation in the region noted: "Civilians in the area are living in great fear as presidential guards often move into the zone to kill civilians and burn villages in reprisal for rebel activities there."

Some residents seem resigned to their fate. Others cannot bear the shame of atrocities and have opted to leave.

"Some of my fellow [rape victims] have left the village; they were ashamed of what happened to us," Nadima said.

Lack of assistance

The villagers claimed the CAR government had done nothing about the burning of houses and looting of their villages. They also said they had not received adequate assistance from either government or humanitarian organisations in the area.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates there are 150,000 internally displaced persons across the CAR.

In the northwest, one international agency is trying to provide medical help - Médecins Sans Frontières France. But local residents claim it mainly cares for emergency cases and children.

"The people in the area do not know much about the activities of this organisation," MSF doctor, Sylvie Baillat, said. "Caring for children is our priority but it is not true to say that MSF is caring for children only.

"We were focused on children before; this may be perceived as a strategic error but we will correct it. I am going to meet villagers next week to tell them that we're treating adults as well so as to change their perception of our activities," she added.

For Nadima, the assurance that the adults can receive any medical treatment has come too late. "I have not received any medical treatment since I was raped," she said.

See: CAR: Silent crisis in northwest lingers [http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=59236]

jb/ro/mw

IRIN news

Delicio.us  |   Digg  |   NewsVine  |   Reddit                                                                                  Permalink