21 November 2008
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today expressed its mounting concern for the safety of nearly 70,000 displaced people taking shelter in camps, where shootings and lootings have been reported, outside a provincial capital in the war-wracked eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Early this morning, a 20-year-old woman was shot and killed at the Kibati camp, on the northern outskirts of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Several families were forced to flee their huts, which where then looted by armed men.
"Our team in Kibati is assessing the situation and the needs of the victims," UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler told reporter in Geneva.
The agency has continually voiced its concern for the safety of some 67,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) taking refuge in these camps.
"We fear that the civilian population, already in a dramatic and desperate humanitarian situation, could be caught in the crossfire, should fighting resume in the area," Mr. Spindler said.
North Kivu, which borders Rwanda, has been the scene of recent fierce fighting between Congolese military forces (FARDC) and a rebel militia known as the CNDP, which is led by renegade army general Laurent Nkunda. Other militia groups, including the Mayi-Mayi, have also been involved in clashes, some of which have been along ethnic lines.
The violence has uprooted an estimated quarter of a million civilians in the past few months.
Yesterday, the Security Council authorized a temporary increase of more than 3,000 blue helmets serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known by its French acronym MONUC, to deal with the violence in the country's east.
The extra 2,785 troops and 300 police officers will buttress the 17,000 uniformed personnel already serving with the mission, the largest UN force worldwide but one faced with the task of quelling unrest and protecting civilians in one of Africa's largest countries.
The latest report of violence in the Kibati camps today increases the urgency of moving the nearly 70,000 IDPs to the new Mugunga camp, some 15 kilometers from Goma.
"We, together with our partners, have been taking advantage of relative calm in North Kivu this week to step up work on a new camp for up to 30,000 displaced people," Mr. Spindler noted.
The break in fighting has allowed UNHCR and its partners to start construction on housing blocks and critical infrastructure, such as roads and latrines. Additionally, a water distribution system is being built to supply up to 10,000 people.
The agency spokesperson pointed out that the working conditions are very difficult, with the site lying on hardened lava rock.
He said that the voluntary relocation of IDPs from Kibati will begin as soon as the basic infrastructure is in place. Most people will make the journey by foot, with truck transportation being supplied for young children, the elderly and the infirm.
UNHCR will also bringing in additional aid into North Kivu, with six trucks loaded with relief supplies - including plastic sheeting, kitchen sets, thermal blankets and mosquito having arrived earlier this week from Tanzania.
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