NEW YORK, 17 January (IRIN) -
Fighting between unidentified groups in Central African Republic's crisis-ridden north has left one million people in need of humanitarian assistance, the majority of which have been directly exposed
to conflict, said the country's Humanitarian Coordinator, Toby Lanzer, on Tuesday. "They've been directly affected by the violence, which has been sweeping across the northeast and northwest parts
of the country in wave after wave. It's violence unlike what's been previously seen in the country. It is being perpetrated by men in uniform, whose identity is unclear, and whose nationality is
unclear," he told reporters.Armed men have been burning homes and torching villages in the area over the past 12 months, according to field assessments conducted by aid workers. Lanzer said that
the humanitarian situation was "dire". An estimated 150,000 people are internally displaced, while some 80,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad or Cameroon. The displaced groups are widely dispersed
and there are no paved roads in the northern part of the country, making it difficult for aid agencies to obtain a clear picture of actual conditions. However, the few reports from the areas
affected by fighting claim people are scattered in the bush subsisting on wild roots. In an effort to gather information on the crisis, Lanzer traveled to northern towns that had been occupied by
militants during October and November of last year. He said the situation was urgent, and that there were "compelling humanitarian reasons" for countries to engage in the CAR, a country not as high
on the international agenda as neighbouring Sudan, Chad or the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lanzer noted that CAR only had five international NGOs working within its borders, perhaps the lowest
number in the world for a country in crisis. He hopes that a humanitarian donor conference taking place in Geneva on Wednesday will infuse the country with the quick cash the northern areas
desperately need. "People will die if the [CAR] does not get donor partners before mid-February," he said, adding that this prediction was based on the security situation not deteriorating further.Steps appear to be underway to address the insecurity. The UN Security Council agreed last week to re-send a technical assessment team – the precursor to a peacekeeping mission – to Chad and
CAR, after a previous attempt to visit failed due to insecurity. A Security Council Presidential statement on Tuesday stated that the possible establishment of a mission in the region "intended to
contribute to improve security on the Chad and Central African side of the border with Sudan and to foster regional peace and stability through the monitoring of cross-border activities between Chad,
the CAR and the Sudan".lab/md
