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Gallery|Humanitarian Crises

A rare sense of calm in volatile CAR

A semblance of security is encouraging those who fled violence to return.

Since June, European Union Force (EUFOR) soldiers have taken over the mission to secure and stabilise Bangui 
By Alexander Ohrn
Published On 10 Aug 2014

Bangui, Central African Republic – Months of religiously motivated violence have shredded the social fabric of the Central African Republic and forced hundreds of thousands people to take to the road – swelling refugee camps in the capital city of Bangui, outlying provinces, and in neighbouring countries. 

With an increased sense of security, some have started to return, but many remain wary. Violence can flare up at anytime.

International forces patrol the streets of the capital and engage with the residents. The once-deserted streets are now lined with food vendors. Yet there are still noticeable scars in this uneasy calm.  

PK5, a once-mixed neighbourhood, has turned into a Muslim enclave over the past few months. Muslim residents are still scared to leave the sanctuary of their neighbourhood. While Christian women sit on the side of the road selling food, Muslim worshippers come in numbers to attend the Eid prayers. Smiles are exchanged – something unthinkable months ago.

Just a few hundred metres away is a ‘no-man’s-land’. Parts of the neighbourhood remain emptied of its residents. Scores of destroyed houses are a reminder of the sheer brutality that tore the city apart.

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Nearly 40,000 Christians still live on the airport grounds under derelict planes, in hangars, and under a sea of tents by the runway. Many have lost family members and homes. For now, they have nowhere else to go. Children play, smile, and laugh.

For now, a sense of normalcy prevails and life continues, but the slightest spark could ignite another fire. 

On a foot patrol in the third arrondissement, or administrive subdivision, French EUFOR forces make their presence felt and visible
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Engaging with residents is key to the EUFOR mission; bringing back security to the neighbourhoods that saw the most violence
Patroling night and day is essential to ensure security, combat criminality, and to help bring people back to their neighbourhoods
Local residents engage with the adjudent bouliers, or executive officers, to keep them apprised of the situations in their neighbourhoods
An uneasy sense of calm reigns over the city. In PK5, Muslim residents going to Ali Babourou Mosque for early morning Eid prayers
Months ago, only a few dared to go to the Muslim place of prayer, the mosque
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Now, there is not enough room for everyone who wants to pray in the facility
Arriving in numbers, the faithful pray on the street outside Ali Babourou Mosque
A young boy looks to his father for guidance
Two sisters celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid, the celebration at the end Ramadan. Thousands of Muslims live trapped in their neighbourhood and still feel unsafe to leave
A man sits among the debris of the many Muslim-owned houses and shops along avenue Koudoukou that were destroyed in Bangui
Nearly 40,000 Chrisitans continue to live on the airport grounds
Families sleep in tents, in the hangars, or under derelict planes
Among the displaced, thousands of children suffer from malnutrition. Many have been separated from their parents