DDHK News, Central Africa - As violence escalates in the Central African Republic (CAR), tens of thousands of Muslims have arrived in Chad, leaving their country to save themselves from murder, looting and harassment by armed Christian militias.
Over the past few weeks, thousands of terrified civilian Muslims have fled to save their lives from attempted murder, looting and sexual harassment by armed militias from the city's Christian majority. Amnesty International said there were efforts to cleanse the ethnic Muslims.
"I met a brother and sister, both in their 60s, who arrived in Bitoye on foot," Anthony Thouvenin, coordinator of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or borderless doctor at the emergency project on the Chad-CAR border.
"Husband and wife and their children died and they managed to escape together to Chad."
The international medical organization, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) warns of the unfavorable situation for Muslim refugees in Chad, especially women and children.
According to the organization, some 35.000 refugees have experienced grueling journeys to Chad, traveling by truck and walking hundreds of kilometers.
"In Bitoye, most of the refugees and returning Chadian people are from Bocaranga or Paoua," said Thouvenin.
"Most of them are women. Those with money came in trucks, with little luggage, and others on foot. They have nothing. There were also 50 children who came alone. "
Arriving at the Chadian border, refugees who were exhausted faced hunger and disease.
In Bitoye, about 10 kilometers from the border of the Central African Republic, refugees are making shelter under a mango tree.
The MSF coordinator in Bitoye said, "In three days, our medical team has seen 19 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition."
"The main diseases are malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections," said Thouvenin.
“Along the way, people were so crammed into the trucks that some of them fell and had broken bones.
The only closest hospital is a 2.5 hour drive from Bitoye. "The hospital is flooded with refugees and returnees," reports Thouvenin. (mel / onislam.net / muslimdaily.net / rol / localhost / project / personal / ddhongkong.org / ddhongkong.org). *
