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IRC Responds to Deepening Crisis in Congo’s North Kivu

Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo 08 Oct 2008 - As renewed combat in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has led to a drastic deterioration in the humanitarian situation, International Rescue Committee teams are providing emergency assistance to thousands of recently displaced people sheltering in public buildings or with host families.

Some 30,000 people fleeing ongoing clashes between the Congolese army and the forces of renegade general Laurent Nkunda and other armed groups have taken shelter along the road between North Kivu’s capital Goma and the town of Rutshuru. People along this road are currently taking refuge in over 30 different public sites, like churches and schools, as well as with local families.

“We have provided the displaced families with essential household items such as cooking sets, soap, blankets, jerry cans, mosquito nets and clothing,” said Danielle de Knocke van der Meulen, the IRC’s provincial director in North Kivu. “We have also built more than 140 temporary latrines, garbage pits and 80 shower shelters.”

IRC teams have distributed hygiene materials and spread hygiene messages to prevent a potential outbreak of disease in the overcrowded public sites, in addition to putting up tents for those sheltering in schools, so that classrooms can be freed up and classes can resume as normal.

Further to the west, in Masisi territory, the IRC team was the first organization to respond to an outbreak of watery diarrhea, which has so far infected more than 300 people and resulted in 37 deaths in just two weeks.

“Around 18,000 people displaced from Ngungu and surrounding villages, 100 km west of Goma, have sought refuge next to a UN base where sanitation conditions are critical,” said de Knocke van der Meulen. “There is a high risk that the outbreak could deteriorate into a cholera epidemic. Our teams have responded by establishing chlorination points, disinfecting the entire site and distributing soap to affected families. We have already seen a marked improvement in the number of people affected.”

In Minova, just across the border into South Kivu, a serious cholera epidemic has already broken out among the displaced. Despite poor security, the IRC was able to respond by building and repairing water systems, constructing over 60 latrine blocks and providing urgent medical supplies to clinics.

“Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault in this area and the IRC is providing survivors with psychosocial support as well as ensuring access to clinical care at the local hospital,” said Sergio Trevisan, the IRC’s provincial director in South Kivu.

On September 25, the Congo Advocacy Coalition, which includes the IRC and 82 aid agencies and human rights groups active in Congo, said in a statement that an estimated 100,000 civilians have been forced to flee in the most recent violence. According to witnesses, some civilians were trapped in combat zones and were killed, wounded, raped or illegally detained by soldiers of the Congolese army and combatants of other armed groups.

“It is simply unimaginable what these people are going through,” said de Knocke van der Meulen. “Many of those fleeing had already been displaced during earlier waves of violence. Once again, they leave behind the huts they had built in their places of refuge, pack up their few possessions and run. And many of them are unable to avoid the looting soldiers and bandits on the road to safety.”

The heavy fighting — the worst since the signing of the Goma peace agreement on January 23, 2008 — started in Rutshuru territory in North Kivu before spreading to Masisi territory followed by Kalehe territory in South Kivu. Since the peace deal, the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC, has recorded more than 250 ceasefire violations in both North and South Kivu. Each round of fighting has resulted in fresh displacement of civilians. The exact numbers are difficult to estimate as those returning home are frequently forced to flee again, but the UN believes that more than 1.2 million people are now displaced in North and South Kivu.

During the recent fighting, many civilians were wounded or killed in the crossfire, while reports indicate that others, including children, were abducted and forcibly recruited into armed service. In addition, said the Congo Advocacy Coalition, aid workers have suffered attacks that have forced them to suspend activities in North Kivu and parts of South Kivu, leaving many displaced persons without assistance. Soldiers and combatants from armed groups have looted health centers and hijacked trucks delivering humanitarian assistance, diverting them for military purposes. Crowds have stoned aid workers and refused to allow them to pass roadblocks, confusing their role with that of UN peacekeepers. The crowds said they were angry about what they saw as MONUC’s failure to end the conflict and protect the population.