Tracking - "Humanitarian Black Holes" in Congo

by Michael Bear

category: Humanitarian Relief

Published November 12, 2008 @ 01:17PM PT

[Refugees fleeing Kiwanja, in eastern Congo - Footage from Al Jazeera]

Fighting in eastern Congo has caused over 250,000 civilians to flee their homes since August, including 100,000 people in the last two weeks.

In late October, rebel forces under Laurent Nkunda overran the Congolese Army and advanced to the edge of Goma, the largest city in North Kivu province, at which point Nkunda declared a ceasefire.

Aid workers are struggling to reach hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting.  For a map of the region, see here.

Developments over the last two days:

- Congolese soldiers rampaged through three towns north of Goma, looting and raping the civilian population.  The violence started Monday night in Kanyabayonga, Kaina and Kirumba and continued on Tuesday as people fled into the surrounding forest.

The UN reports that the soldiers were retreating from the frontline towns of Nyanzale and Kikuku, captured by the rebels last week, and "were unhappy at the pull-out and were also unsettled by rumours of a rebel attack."

In a rather stunning example of the pot calling the kettle black, even pro-Government militias were dismayed, with one Mai Mai spokesman saying "It's regrettable that the regular army should run without hearing a single shot and then start looting the population."

The UN dispatched helicopters and ground troops to try and control the situation.  For more details about the Congolese Army's rather impressive lack of discipline - including reports of soldiers drunk and high on the frontlines - see this previous post.

There were also reports of an hour-long fire fight Tuesday night near the displaced person camp at Kibati, just outside Goma.

- The violence in Kanyabayonga, Kaina and Kirumba caused humanitarian agencies to suspend operations in the area.  The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the UN peacekeepers were en route to rescue aid workers trapped by the fighting.

According to an OCHA spokeswoman: "This type of humanitarian black hole which extends over the zone where access is difficult is growing, which worries us a great deal."

For more information on the humanitarian situation, see below:

Fighting has forced most aid agencies to suspend operations in Rutshuru and Kiwanja, north of Goma, though medical teams with Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) are still active in the area.

(The World Food Program also delivered supplies to Rutshuru on Tuesday, the first time they've been able to access the area since last week.)

That said, relief activities are ongoing in the camps around Goma.  The World Food Program (WFP) has distributed ten day's worth of food to 135,000 people around the city, while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supplied food to 65,000 displaced people around Kibati.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and UNICEF have also provided water and sanitation support to over 113,000 people around Goma.  Aid agencies are desperately trying to contain a possible cholera outbreak in the camps.

For the most recent OCHA Humanitarian Situation Update (November 11th), see here.

- BBC interviewed rebel leader Laurent Nkunda earlier this week, after threatened to try and capture the entire country if the Congolese Government does not agree to negotiations.

One of the glories of the twenty-first century is that even warlords are concerned with their public image, to which end Nkunda stressed that he'd much rather talk than fight: "I am a rebel, but the way to resolve the problem is to negotiate."  A nice sentiment, save for the fact that his forces have plunged eastern Congo into chaos, or even more chaos.

- Speaking of which, the rebels are also recruiting more and more child soldiers, with a special focus on attacking schools.

- Finally, some good news - it seems that there is growing support on the UN Security Council for sending additional peacekeepers to the eastern Congo.  No comment on the fact that it's taken weeks to reach this potential consensus.

Random quote: "I was not there but my spirit was there.  For all sides are this side to me.  It is truth.  I have seen dog-whips and batons and I have held diamonds in my hand in Johannesburg.  And I know also the cure for serpents." (Giles Foden, The Last King of Scotland)