More than 200,000 people have fled fighting in the Central African Republic since violence erupted over a December election result, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, with nearly half crossing into the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Refugees have told UNHCR that they fled in panic when they heard gunshots, leaving their belongings behind,” spokesman Boris Cheshirkov told journalists in Geneva, adding that tens of thousands of the displaced are facing “dire conditions”.