Following the aerial attack on the southern Darfur town of Dafak in May, a total of 2,650 Sudanese refugees fled over the border to north-eastern Central African Republic. The United Nations humanitarian agencies have assessed the situation and have begun an airlift to deliver essential food, shelter and household items to those in need. This assistance is funded by the $100,000 from the UN’s local Emergency Response Fund, to which DFID contributed £550,000 in April, in addition to the $6.4 million provided from the UN’s global Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) since 2006. DFID is the single largest donor to the CERF, providing $154 million since 2006.
DFID remains concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic, and the impact on refugees and other vulnerable people. In response, we have increased our humanitarian commitment to the country to £2 million in 2007.