EMERGENCIES

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC REFUGEE CRISIS

598,000

refugees

from CAR

Violence between armed groups has forced over half a million people to flee the Central African Republic.

655,000 IDPs

Thousands of people are displaced within CAR, often spending weeks hiding in the forests without food or water trying to reach safety.

543,000 in neighboring

countries

Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo host the majority of CAR's refugees.

Background

In 2013, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children fled their homes in the Central African Republic (CAR) in desperation, many seeking refuge in neighboring Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chad. They arrived in dire condition, having walked for days with little water or food. Many refugees showed signs of brutal attacks and extreme malnutrition.

The years following the violence of 2013 brought a gradual transition towards peace and stability but chaos sparked in June 2016.

More than 1 million Central Africans have been forced to flee their homes - the highest level of displacement since violence broke out.

map with central african republic highlighted in blue

Voices of the Crisis

VIDEO

The Central African Republic: A Forgotten Crisis (2:36)

How to Help

In what is one of the most poorly funded emergency situations globally, many people lack even basic survival assistance. UNHCR needs help meeting the food, water, health and sanitation needs of refugees from CAR.

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UNHCR commits to support voluntary repatriation of Central African refugees

Thousands flee Central African violence into remote region of northern DRC

See all stories about the Central African Republic refugee crisis >

A child from the Central African Republic waits for her mother at Bili refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Cameroon hosts 47 percent of CAR's refugees.
171,966 Central African refugees reside in camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
61% of Central African refugees in the DRC are children.
In 2017, over 18,000 Central Africans fled to Chad, making it the biggest influx of Central African refugees to Chad since 2014.

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