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UN: Refugee influx may hit CAR
12/02/2008 21:02 - (SA)
Brussels - The United Nations has drawn up contingency plans for the influx of up to 50 000 new refugees into Central African Republic (CAR) from neighbouring Sudan and Chad, a UN official said on Tuesday.
Toby Lanzer, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the country, said the planned deployment of European Union troops into CAR combined with relatively good local water supplies could create a "pull factor" attracting refugees from across its borders.
"We have contingency plans for 50 000 refugees," he said, adding that the United Nations had the backing of CAR authorities for a plan which, if activated, would involve providing shelter, medicines, water and food to new arrivals.
Lanzer stressed in an interview he had no indication yet that more refugees were on their way to join some 3 000 who had already fled to CAR to escape violence in Sudan's western Darfur region. He said a further influx was only one of several scenarios for which the UN was bracing.
A 3 700-strong EU peacekeeping force bound for eastern Chad and CAR resumed deployment on Tuesday after a suspension caused by fighting between the army and rebels.
Lanzer said he understood around 15% of the EU force would be dedicated to northeast CAR.
EU commanders expect the mission to Chad and CAR, which has an initial 12-month mandate, to be the most challenging undertaken as part of its fledgling common security policy.
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