Armed groups, including one linked to the Armed Forces of the Central African Republic (CAR), have committed grave human rights violations in the Haut Oubangui region in the south-east of the country, mainly against Muslim communities and Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers, according to a new UN report. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in CAR remains critical as the population continues to face insecurity, while the ongoing war in Sudan exacerbates the situation.
At least 24 people were killed in two waves of attacks in the Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou prefectures in October 2024 and January 2025, according to a joint report released on Wednesday by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
The attacks, some of which involved summary executions, were directed and coordinated by elements of Wagner Ti Azandé (WTA), an armed group with links to the national army. WTA was originally part of another armed group called Azandé Ani Kpi Gbé (Azanikpigbe), whose members were also involved in carrying out the attacks.
According to the report, other documented violations and abuses include cases of conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls, including gang rape, forced labor, torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as well as the looting of homes and businesses.
âThese horrible crimes must not go unpunished. Accountability is fundamental to ensure ensuring such violations never happen again,â said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker TĂŒrk in a statement.
He called for the links between the WTA group and the national army to be clarified and for full transparency about the group's actions and their legality.
âIf this is not possible, the group should be disarmed,â TĂŒrk added.
Valentine Rugwabiza, the UN special envoy to the Central African Republic and head of MINUSCA, said the situation in Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou remained of particular concern despite continued efforts by the government, with the support of MINUSCA.
âFailure to adequately respond to these crimes would undermine the hard-earned security gains and further erode social cohesion in areas where efforts have been made with communities to defuse tensions and promote peaceful coexistence,â she said.
In early October, armed members of both the WTA and Azanikpigbe attacked the towns of Dembia and RafaĂŻ in Mbomou prefecture, targeting mainly the Fulani community and other Muslims, as well as a camp for Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers, according to the report.
âAs soon as they arrived in Dembia, the WTA and the Azanikpigbe publicly slit the throat of a 36-year-old Fulani man, creating a climate of terror among the population,â the report said. Seven more Fulani men were tied up and thrown alive into the Ouara river.
The attackers also committed acts of sexual violence against 24 victims, including 14 women and seven girls who were raped, mostly gang raped, the report said. Two girls and one woman were victims of forced labor, while another woman was forcibly married to an attacker.
On January 21, a dozen armed WTA members attacked a Fulani camp near Mboki in the Haut-Mbomou prefecture, killing at least 12 people. Following the attack, at least 14 WTA members were arrested in Mboki and Bangui.
The UN report stresses that the limited presence of state security forces in parts of the prefectures of Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou has created space for groups such as the WTA and Azanikpigbe to operate more actively in a climate of impunity.
Rugwabiza and TĂŒrk urged the Central African authorities to continue their efforts to investigate the incidents and prosecute the perpetrators in accordance with international standards. They reiterated their willingness to work with the authorities to promote and protect human rights and to combat impunity in the country.
Humanitarian crisis
The Central African Republic has been one of the world's most neglected humanitarian crises for several years in a row. The country has been wracked by violent conflict since 2012. Nearly half of the population - 45 percent - is in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025, including approximately 1.1 million children.
For more than a decade, CAR has been affected by conflict, with the continued presence of armed groups. Violence against civilians, including attacks on health care and gender-based violence (GBV), other violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and the impact of natural disasters linked to climate change, such as flooding, continue to cause new displacement.
One in five Central Africans remains displaced either internally or externally, mainly to neighboring countries, due to conflict, violence, lack of basic services and extreme weather events. The total number of displaced people currently stands at more than 1.15 million, with more than 676,000 refugees in neighboring countries and some 470,000 people internally displaced.
With one-fifth of its population forced to flee, the Central African Republic is the country with the third highest level of forced displacement in Africa, after South Sudan and Sudan. Most refugees have fled to Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The humanitarian situation in CAR has improved significantly over the past two years as security has improved in some areas, allowing more than 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to be integrated locally or returned to their areas of origin since 2022.
Despite certain security gains in different parts of the country, the overall security situation remains worrisome in certain areas, particularly in the northwest, the east and, to a lesser extent, in the centre of the country. Clashes between parties to the conflict and attacks on civilians and infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, continue.
Since mid-April 2023, following the war that erupted in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the CAR has been hosting thousands of Sudanese refugees, most of whom arrive through the Am-dafock border crossing in the Vakaga region of CAR.
As of March 2025, more than 40,000 refugees - 86 percent of them women and children - have arrived from Sudan. The ongoing conflict in Sudan continues to drive refugee influxes into CAR. In February, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) warned of an imminent aid shortage for Sudanese refugees in CAR and called for US$14.8 million to support more than 30,000 refugees and host communities in 2025.
Humanitarian needs in the country remain high, despite recent improvements in the security situation. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), approximately 38 percent of the country's population is extremely vulnerable, to the extent "that humanitarian assistance alone will not be enough for their well-being."
Between September 2024 and March 2025, about 2 million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity - classified as IPC Phase 3 or worse. Nearly 1.7 million people are at crisis levels (IPC Phase 3), and 307,000 people face emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4).
The situation is expected to worsen between April and August 2025. Approximately 2.25 million people - about 42 percent of the population - are projected to experience crisis levels of hunger (IPC Phase 3) or worse. During that period, about 1.82 million people are estimated to be in Phase 3 and about 431,000 people are estimated to be in Phase 4.
In 2025, humanitarian agencies aim to reach 1.8 million of the most vulnerable Central Africans, for which they require US$326.1 million, an 11 percent decrease from the funding requested in 2024.
The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025 is more than 14 percent lower than in 2024, due in part to improvements in the situation and a more rigorous analysis of humanitarian needs by aid agencies.
Further information
Full text: Rapport public sur les violations et atteintes graves aux droits de lâhomme commises par les Wagner Ti AzandĂ© et les AzandĂ© ani KPI GbĂ© du 1 au 7 octobre 2024 Ă Dembia et RafaĂŻ, prĂ©fecture du Mbomou, UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, released March 5, 2025 (in French)
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/central-african-republic/20250304-minusca-ohchr-dembia-report.pdf