• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%
  • Also available in French

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Newly internally displaced people flee rising tensions and insecurity

Briefing Notes, 31 August 2007

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 31 August 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Thousands of newly internally displaced people are fleeing rising tensions and insecurity in the Masisi and Rutshuru districts of North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The population of one of the makeshift camps at Mugunga, some 15 kilometres west of Goma, has doubled over the past three weeks, according to those staying there. Just four weeks ago, Mugunga hosted an estimated 9,000 internally displaced persons. Today, there are some 18,000.

Since December 2006, over 20 such IDP sites have mushroomed in North Kivu province as the capacity of host families to take new arrivals has been exhausted.

We are increasingly concerned by the spiralling displacement and atrocities in eastern DRC. With heightened tensions and the build-up of military forces, the situation risks turning into a humanitarian and human rights disaster.

According to our teams, more displaced people continued to arrive at various sites over the past days, as Congolese in many villages of Masisi and Rutshuru districts fear clashes between regular DRC government forces, renegade troops resisting integration into the regular army and various rebel groups.

Internally displaced people in Mugunga say they fled fearing fighting and an escalation of violence, not because of direct attacks. Since Monday, some 600 displaced people found shelter in over-crowded conditions in a school building close to Mugunga. The displaced at the Muganga site are living under precarious conditions on volcanic rock. In 1994, Mugunga was the site of a humanitarian tragedy, when hundreds of thousands of Rwandan refugees fled to the area in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, forming one of the largest refugee camps at that time.

Access to the displaced people is a problem for humanitarian agencies because of the worsening security situation. Whenever possible, our field monitoring teams are regularly visiting displacement areas to assess the needs.

In order to improve living conditions at the Mugunga site, UNHCR organized training yesterday for IDP leaders and local authorities in Mugunga, focusing on camp management. Our teams provided guidance on distribution of water, maintenance of shelters and latrines. Other UN agencies and NGOs are also rushing to provide household items and food rations to those displaced at Mugunga and other sites in North Kivu.

We are currently planning more projects to improve living conditions in IDP sites in North Kivu. Since December 2006, an estimated 180,000 Congolese have been newly displaced in North Kivu, including refugee movements across the border into Uganda. The latest was reported last week when some 10,000 Congolese fled to Kisoro district in south-west Uganda. In total, there are now more than 650,000 internally displaced in the North Kivu province.

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related Stories

more documents

UNHCR country pages

The crisis in North Kivu continues

Insecurity in Democratic Republic of the Congo's North Kivu province continues, with more than 500,000 people internally displaced, many for the second or third time. Armed combat, persecution of civilians, killings, abductions, sexual abuse and forced recruitment of children still lead to displacement. Reports of rapes and murders number in the thousands. Some 176,000 of the displaced live in Masisi District, including 49,000 hosted in 19 camps. Conditions are harsh, with entire families living in one-room ramshackle huts with no water or services. UNHCR is very concerned about the security situation, living conditions and the future of the displaced. Even though some 36,000 people living in camps in North Kivu managed to return home in 2010, approximately 72,000 remain.

UNHCR is coordinating 31 camps for internally displaced people (IDP) in the whole of North Kivu, providing emergency assistance. UNHCR is facing enormous challenges in terms of access to the areas where the IDPs are hosted and continues to plead for humanitarian access to assist the people in need.

The crisis in North Kivu continues

Congo's river refugees

More than 100,000 Congolese refugees have crossed the Oubangui River in search of safety in neighbouring Republic of the Congo since inter-ethnic violence erupted in their home areas late last year. They fled from Equateur province in the north-west of Democratic Republic of the Congo after Enyele militiamen launched deadly assaults in October on ethnic Munzayas over fishing and farming rights in the Dongo area. The tensions have spread to other parts of the province.

The majority of the displaced are camping in public buildings and some 100 sites along a 600-kilometre stretch of the Oubangui River, including with host communities. The massive influx is stretching the meagre resources of the impoverished and remote region. Help is urgently needed for both the refugees and the host communities.

The relief operation is logistically complex and expensive because the region can only be reached by plane or boat. However, few boats are available and most are in need of repair. Fuel is expensive and difficult to procure.

Congo's river refugees

Displaced in North Kivu: A Life on the Run

Fighting rages on in various parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with seemingly no end in sight for hundreds of thousands of Congolese forced to flee violence and instability over the past two years. The ebb and flow of conflict has left many people constantly on the move, while many families have been separated. At least 1 million people are displaced in North Kivu, the hardest hit province. After years of conflict, more than 1,000 people still die every day - mostly of hunger and treatable diseases. In some areas, two out of three women have been raped. Abductions persist and children are forcefully recruited to fight. Outbreaks of cholera and other diseases have increased as the situation deteriorates and humanitarian agencies struggle to respond to the needs of the displaced.

When the displacement crisis worsened in North Kivu in 2007, the UN refugee agency sent emergency teams to the area and set up operations in several camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). Assistance efforts have also included registering displaced people and distributing non-food aid. UNHCR carries out protection monitoring to identify human rights abuses and other problems faced by IDPs in North and South Kivu.

Displaced in North Kivu: A Life on the Run

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kimoka ReturneesPlay video

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kimoka Returnees

Conflict forced hundreds of thousands of Congolese to flee their homes in North Kivu province in 2007-2008. The villagers of Kimoka are finally returning.
Refugees in Republic of CongoPlay video

Refugees in Republic of Congo

Tens of thousands of people have reportedly fled a wave of ethnic violence in the north-west of the embattled Democratic Republic of the Congo. The civilians have fled from Equateur province, crossing the Ubangi River and seeking shelter in Republic of the Congo.
High Commissioner Guterres visits eastern CongoPlay video

High Commissioner Guterres visits eastern Congo

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres visits some of the estimated 2.1 million displaced people in eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and asks for more international assistance.