U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 1999 - Central African Republic

Central African Republic hosted more than 45,000 refugees at the end of 1998, including nearly 35,000 from Sudan, some 7,000 from Chad, and about 5,000 from Congo-Kinshasa. Virtually no Rwandan refugees remained in the country.

Political Events

For the first time in several years, no significant population displacement occurred in Central African Republic.

Military mutinies caused tens of thousands of people to flee temporarily from their homes in Bangui, the capital, during 1996 and 1997. Violence in mid-1997 uprooted as many as 70,000 people.

Peacekeeping troops from several African countries helped restore order in the final half of 1997 and early 1998, enabling most displaced families to return home. However, residential neighborhoods in Bangui became ethnically segregated because of the previous violence.

A National Reconciliation Pact signed in March 1998 laid the groundwork for elections and cooperation among government officials, the restless military, and civilian organizations. The UN Security Council deployed up to 1,350 peacekeeping troops in Central African Republic during the final nine months of 1998 to maintain security, train local police, and assist in election preparations.

Although Bangui escaped serious violence much of the year, most rural areas of Central African Republic remained dangerous because of unchecked banditry and alleged incursions by armed rebels from neighboring countries. The political situation was "calm but volatile," according to a mid-year report by the UN Secretary General. UN aid officials described the security situation as "precarious."

Refugees from Sudan

Large numbers of refugees entered Central African Republic from Sudan in the early 1990s, fleeing full-scale civil war. Few have repatriated. More than 1,000 new refugees arrived during 1998.

Nearly all of the 30,000 Sudanese refugees lived in a camp at Mboki, in the isolated southeast corner of the country, near the borders with Sudan and Congo-Kinshasa. Most refugees at Mboki, of the Zande ethnic group, shared linguistic ties with local residents.

Insecurity along rural highways curtailed aid deliveries to the refugees early in the year. Truck convoys, laden with food and other relief supplies, required armed military escorts.

Two Sudanese refugees were killed when attackers raided Mboki camp in November. UNHCR blamed rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army for the attack. UNHCR temporarily evacuated its staff, with assistance from UN peacekeeping troops.

Refugees from Congo-Kinshasa

As many as 10,000 Congolese refugees fled into Central African Republic during the year to escape civil war in their own country. It is believed that many quickly returned to Congo-Kinshasa when local conditions permitted.

A renewed influx occurred in the final days of 1998. Some 5,000 Congolese refugees – many of them new arrivals – were seeking safety in Central African Republic as the year ended, and several thousand more refugees were reportedly on their way.

Refugees from Chad

Large numbers of Chadian refugees fled to Central African Republic in the early 1990s to escape abuses by government and rebel troops in their country. The refugee population peaked at 18,000 in 1994. Some 10,000 Chadians repatriated from Central African Republic in 1995, followed by smaller numbers in succeeding years.

Some 3,000 new Chadian refugees fled to Central Africa Republic during 1998, joining about 4,000 who remained from previous years. Most of the 7,000 refugees at the end of 1998 lived in a camp at Boubou, near the northwestern town of Bossangoa. Reports indicated that relatively few Chadians repatriated during the year.

Refugees from Rwanda

Nearly 1,500 Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers resided in Central African Republic at the start of 1998. Many of the asylum seekers were young males suspected of participating in crimes of genocide in Rwanda during 1994.

The government's National Eligibility Commission interviewed most Rwandan asylum seekers individually in 1997 to determine which individuals qualified for refugee status. Some UNHCR officials indicated privately, however, that Central African authorities used a flawed status determination process, and that many Rwandans received refugee status despite a likelihood that they had engaged in previous criminal activity.

Most Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers lived at Bouca camp. Four Rwandan asylum seekers at the camp killed two local police in March, sparking violent retribution by the local population. Local residents burned Bouca camp and reportedly killed four Rwandans. Some sources estimated that as many as 40 people died in the violence.

UNHCR urged the Central African Republic government to improve security and control of the situation by separating Rwandan refugees from Rwandan non-refugees. Government officials, however, said they lacked the military resources to separate the population. The government urged UNHCR to close Bouca camp and resettle the Rwandans in a different country, and said that Central African Republic "cannot sacrifice its citizens" to aid the Rwandans.

The turmoil created by the presence of Rwandan refugees and non refugees in Central African Republic is "an issue with serious humanitarian and security ramifications," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported in mid-1998. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, stated that many of the Rwandans in Central African Republic "have committed serious crimes against Central African nations. This is an urgent problem."

In late 1998, many Rwandan asylum seekers indicated that they wished to depart Central African Republic for neighboring Congo-Kinshasa, presumably to fight in that country's civil war. Some Rwandans issued threats against local officials and UNHCR staff who sought to impede their departure.

Government officials facilitated the Rwandans' departure from Bouca camp in November. The vast majority of Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers exited Central African Republic and presumably entered Congo-Kinshasa.

"We strongly regret the decision of the government of the Central African Republic to assist the movement of more than 800 Rwandans from a UNHCR camp...into [Congo-Kinshasa]," a U.S. government statement declared.