01/22/2008

In northwest CAR, the UN estimates that almost 200,000 people have fled their homes since 2005, with half of them seeking refuge in Chad and Cameroon. They are victims of two distinct but entwined situations: a low-intensity conflict between the government and rebel groups on the one hand and the criminal activities of marauding gangs on the other. The root cause of the rebel activity is political, while zaraguinas or coupeurs de route - as the criminal gangs are known - prey on villagers for financial gain. But these problems are entwined because zaraguinas thrive on the lawlessness accompanying the political conflict.