CONFLICT ASSESSMENT IN THE BAMINGUI-BANGORAN REGION
November 2019 – February 2020
AP has conducted a Conflict Assessment in the Bamingui-Bangoran region, Central African Republic (CAR) for the international NGO Search for Common Ground (SFCG).
SFCG identified Bamingui-Bangoran as a target region of crucial importance for the success of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Central African Republic (CAR) and as such, determined to conduct a conflict assessment in this area. Data collection was carried out between November and December 2019.
Findings
The most important dynamics identified include: conflicts between farmers and herders, armed groups and village youth; violence against women; conflicts related to the lack of water points and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
The region is characterized by transboundary transhumance with Chad. Therefore, field devastation is common and affects a large part of the resident population. The immediate consequences are mistrust between farmers and herders, but also food insecurity, displacement of populations and cases of murder.
The presence of armed groups remains one of the most structural threats to peacebuilding. Clearly, delays in the implementation of the peace process and in the disarmament of groups due to the absence of the State authority has generated conflicts at several levels. Specifically, women are targeted in various forms.
Water points are another source of tension. The lack of water points in the community is often the root of misunderstandings and tension between individuals in a community. Such tension leads to insults, and sometimes even fighting or death. This deficiency is part of a broader lack of (essential) services perceived by the population as a central problem and a potential significant source of conflicts.
Finally, the principle of “Do No Harm” does not always seem to be applied in this region. Many humanitarian NGOs indirectly create divisions and betray the expectations of the local population through actions that are not conflict sensitive.
