C Africa violence forces over 85k people to flee

Surging violence in Central African Republic has killed hundreds and forced some 88 000 people to flee their homes since the beginning of the month, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
One of the world’s poorest nations, the country has been struggling to recover from a three-year civil war between the Muslim and Christian militias that started in 2013.
A new flare-up of sectarian violence since the beginning of May has forced 68 000 people to flee conflict-ravaged areas while another 20 000 have crossed into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo as refugees over the past two weeks alone, the UN refugee agency said.
That brings the number of internally displaced people in CAR to over 500 000, and the number of refugees in neighbouring DRC to over 120 000, UN figures show.
“Significant rebel activity in towns along the DRC border as well as rumours of possible attacks are pushing people to flee,” UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva, saying many of the displaced were sleeping in the open or in makeshift shelters.
On May 13, at least 108 people were slaughtered and 76 injured during the attack by several hundred fighters on Bangassou, a town near the DRC border that until now had largely been spared from violence, UN and Red Cross figures show.