Attacks by armed groups against security forces in the Central African Republic (CAR), combined with increased food and fuel prices and an influx of refugees from Sudan, have aggravated an already fragile humanitarian situation there UN officials said on Tuesday.

In a country of some six million people, over two million suffer from acute hunger, and the prevalence of chronic malnutrition in children under five of around 40 per cent is one of the highest in the world, according to the UN famine prevention and response coordination office (OFPRC).