UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 12,000-15,000 people have been displaced from Bakouma town and nearby villages in the Central African Republic (CAR) since Dec. 31, a UN spokesman said Monday.
They were fleeing clashes between Muslim groups and Christian militia, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The majority of internally displaced people have sought refuge in Bangassou town in the southeastern part of the country, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They were provided with humanitarian aid by the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations, including food, non-food items and health services, the spokesman told a press briefing.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has deployed an emergency team to scale up coordination, but rural areas remain inaccessible due to insecurity and the growing mobilization of armed people, he said.
The central African country has been in civil war since 2012, which is being fought along religious and ethnic lines, primarily between Christian anti-Balaka militia and Muslim militant groups.
