ISTANBUL
A group of Turkish Islamic NGOs has gathered in Istanbul to announce an action plan for the war-torn Central African Republic.
The landlocked country is suffering an ongoing humanitarian crisis due to inter-communal violence between Muslims and Christians in the country.
The ‘Humanitarian Aid Platform’, which consists of 24 Turkish aid groups, has said it will firstly deliver humanitarian assistance to refugee camps in CAR.
General secretary of the Union of NGOs of The Islamic World, Ali Kurt, told reporters that Muslims in CAR were facing a “genocide Rwanda has faced before”. He claimed that armed groups had systemically attacked innocent people, slaughtered scores because of their Muslim identity, and had demolished mosques and homes.
A spokesman for Turkey for Central Africa, Ibrahim Osman, said Muslims in refugee camps were living in poor conditions, adding that such camps were not a permanent solution.
“We don’t want to be second Palestine. Helping people on refugee camps is not a solution. Security has to be assured so they can come back to the country”, he said.
Kerem Kinik, the president of Doctors Worldwide, said the foundation will focus on the medical aspect of the campaign, providing basic health services in CAR.
"We will increase the capacity and quality of the hospitals. We have determined that 120 health centers have been partially demolished or looted. Eighty percent of healthcare workers have left the country. We will provide the appropriate conditions in health centers with new equipment so local doctors and other health workers can come back" he added.
Ali Karayilan, general manager of Lighthouse Foundation, said his organization was trying to find out how to deliver aid inside country due to escalating violence in the region. Noting that their priority was to deliver medical equipment, medicine and food, Karayilan said they will provide food from neighboring countries since bringing it from Turkey was difficult.
A mineral-rich, landlocked country, CAR descended into anarchy one year ago when Seleka rebels – said to be mostly Muslim – ousted Christian president Francois Bozize, who had come to power in a 2003 coup.
According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), around 173,000 people have been internally displaced since last December, while 37,000 others have fled to neighboring countries.
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