Central African Republic Faces Urgent Food Crisis

Central African Republic remains in the grips of a dire food crisis, the United Nations warned Tuesday.

As much as 30 percent of the the country’s population is facing a moderate to severe food security situation, according to U.N. World Food Program (WFP) spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs.

According to newly released WFP figures, the Central African Republic’s food crisis is affecting over 1.5 million people. The figure is based on a WFP study in September 2014. Women and displaced persons were found to be struggling the most.

As many as 440,000 people in the country are internally displaced, while around 190,000 have fled, according to the U.N.

The latest urgent warning from the WFP follows the publication of a U.N. commission of inquiry in December that painted a grim picture of conditions in Central African Republic. The inquiry asserted that Christian militias have conducted a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the the country’s Muslim population, but stopped short of labeling it genocide.

“Although the commission cannot conclude that there was genocide, ethnic cleansing of the Muslim population by the anti-Balaka constitutes a crime against humanity,” the report stated.

The anti-Balaka is the dominant Christian militia in the war torn country.

Central African Republic has been in a state of chaos since 2012 when the predominantly Muslim Seleka militia coalition accused government forces of violating a previous peace agreement.

After Seleka forces seized the capital of Bangui in 2013, their leader Michel Djotodia declared himself president. However, Djotodia's government was riddled with infighting and he faced fierce opposition from the anti-Balaka, which led to an armed campaign to overthrow the Seleka.

Djotodia resigned in January 2014 and current president Catherine Samba-Panza took over shortly afterward. Samba-Panza has vowed to lead an inclusive government to overcome the country's two-year-old internal conflict, though intermittent fighting between the anti-Balaka and former Seleka-aligned militias has continued.

According to the U.N. commission inquiry, at least 6,000 people have already been killed by the fighting. Yet, the inquiry warned even that figure fails “to capture the full magnitude of the killings that occurred,” and said “all parties” have committed human rights abuses.

“The Seleka coalition and the anti-Balaka are also responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity,” it concluded.

The International Criminal Court has launched its own investigation into allegations of war crimes ranging from rape to the recruitment of child soldiers.