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Refugee Numbers Soar as CAR Election-Related Violence Intensifies

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - The U.N. refugee agency is calling for an immediate stop to
   election-related violence in the Central African Republic that has sent
   tens of thousands of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.

   Presidential and parliamentary elections in the Central African
   Republic on December 27 were meant to advance the peace process and
   unify the country's warring factions. They have instead had the
   opposite effect.

   U.N. refugee agency spokesman Boris Cheshirkov says the situation has
   evolved for the worse as fighting among various armed groups has
   escalated, increasing instability in the country.

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