Cameroon has begun airlifting people trying to flee the war-torn Central African Republic, an official said Saturday in the Cameroonian port city of Douala, according to dpa. Joseph Beti Assomo, the governor of Cameroon's Littoral Region of which Douala is the capital, said national carriers were "freely transporting Cameroonian and other people willing to leave [CAR capital] Bangui." The first flight arrived in Douala on Saturday with 300 people - around "250 Cameroonians and 50 persons of other African countries," said Beti Assomo. Some 2,000 people will be airlifted by next week, the governor said, by national carrier Camair-Co. The planes were also carrying supplies such as water, food and medicine. CAR shares borders with six countries: Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of the Congo and Cameroon.
