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DRC: UNHCR suspends aid distribution amid fresh violence in North Kivu

Briefing Notes, 25 April 2008

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 25 April 2008, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Our office in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) North Kivu province yesterday (Thursday) halted a distribution of aid to displaced people amid a fresh eruption of violence. Hundreds of people have fled fighting in the Rutshuru area since the clashes began at the weekend.

UNHCR has also suspended the registration of new arrivals at sites for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Rutshuru area, some 70 km north of the provincial capital of Goma. We had been helping the government register the hundreds of newly displaced, who have added to an estimated IDP population of some 860,000 in North Kivu.

The suspensions came amid reports of new fighting yesterday between government soldiers and fighters from the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) movement near the Kinyandoni Anglican IDP site. We don't have further details at the moment.

The latest round of displacement in North Kivu came after a splinter faction of the FDLR reportedly raided villages late Saturday near the town of Kiwanja in the Rutshuru area. Aid agencies report that one woman was killed during the attacks. Clashes were reported between the government and rebels in the area on Sunday.

Following the first outbreak of violence and exodus of people, staff in our Rutshuru field office visited IDP sites in the area to find out more about the attacks and to assess the needs of the displaced. While hundreds have been registered as displaced, our staff and other aid workers say there have been many new arrivals at sites around Kiwanja. The majority are staying in public buildings due to a shortage of shelter. They have been receiving food from people displaced in earlier waves of violence.

The newly arrived IDPs had harrowing tales. Some said their homes were destroyed and their possessions looted, while others had lost touch with their children. Most of those arriving in the IDP sites are women and children. Our staff say that medical assistance is urgently needed amid fears of a cholera outbreak.

The displacement in the Rutshuru area comes three months after the signing of an accord in Goma between the government and rival armed groups aimed at bringing lasting peace to the eastern region after more than a decade of conflict. The accord has generally been holding but tensions remained high.

On Wednesday, a coalition of 63 international and Congolese human rights groups warned that there had been little progress toward lasting peace in eastern DRC since the signing of the Goma accord, which they urged the signatories to fully implement. They also called for the appointment of an international human rights adviser to address abuses in the east.

A peace agreement in 2003 formally brought years of strife to a close, but fighting flared again in North Kivu in 2003. There are an estimated 1.3 million IDPs in the country and some 350,000 Congolese refugees outside.

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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.

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