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Central African Republic Conflict - ETC Situation Report #19 (Reporting Period: 01/03/2018 to 01/05/2018)

Countries
CAR
Sources
ETC
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Highlights

• The ETC continues to provide shared internet connectivity services and security telecommunications to the response community in 9x sites across the country.

• The ETC started the deployment of security telecommunications and Internet services in Bria, Alindao and Bangassou with the support of Central Emergency Response Funds (CERF) funds.

• The deteriorating security situation is hampering ETC response efforts in CAR.

Situation Overview

On 1 May, CAR witnessed one of the bloodiest attacks in recent times with 15 people including a priest killed in Bangui when gunmen attacked a church. The attack occurred on the border of the predominantly Muslim PK 5 neighbourhood where 21 people were killed last month when a joint mission by UN peacekeepers and local security forces to disarm criminal gangs descended into open fighting.
Due to the escalating violence and increasing insecurity, the ETC’s response has been severely hampered.

Response

• The ETC has completed the installation of shared Internet connectivity for International Medical Corps (IMC),
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and OXFAM in Bria and is planning to extend Internet connectivity services to MINUSCA base. Equipment is hosted at International Medical Corps (IMC) office.

• The team expanded the coverage of the Very High Frequency (VHF) radio network to cover the whole of Bria. The United Nations (UN) VHF channel is fully operational. o The next plan is to install another repeater for NGOs. The ETC is also in contact with local GSM provider tower to enter an agreement to install an NGO repeater on their tower.

• The ETC is working on a transition plan for the Internet and security telecommunications services in the country.

• The maintenance of equipment and the Very High Frequency (VHF) network at the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) Communications Centre (COMCEN) hosted at the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) in C.A.R is now complete.

• The ETC installed a new base station at the UNDSS COMCEN in Bria. The team will train users and radio operators on this new system. The implementation of the DMR project in Bangui was approved by the HCT but the ETC has not received any funds as part of the cost-sharing mechanism. Due to the deteriorating security situation, the GSM network has been brought down in all the locations where humanitarians are operating. DMR could facilitate communications among humanitarians across the country.

• The ETC continues to provide shared internet connectivity services and security telecommunications to the response community in 8x sites across the country: Kaga-Bandoro and Bossangoa managed by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Zemio, managed by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); N'Dele, managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM); and Bambari, Bangui, and Paoua, managed by the World Food Programme (WFP); Bossangoa and Bouar by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS).