United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
Monuc Pio
3 December 2008
The security situation is improving little by little in Dungu territory (Haut Uele) in Orientale province, as humanitarian actors are being deployed, with MONUC's logistic support, to assist the civilian populations.
Following many discussions between MONUC's Civil Affairs Section and UN Agencies, a first team of humanitarian aid, with three World Food Programme (WFP) representatives, as well as representatives from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) arrived on Tuesday 2 December 2008 at the MONUC base in Dungu, in the district of Haut Uele.
Initially, the humanitarian aid is intended for approximately 6,000 internally displaced persons. The team and partners on the ground will have to make a census of those displaced, and then distribute the food items.
A provisional warehouse is already installed in order to store nonfood items and goods which will be airlifted from Kampala, Uganda. The first 11 ton cargo from a C-130 Hercules plane is awaited this week.
Since 17 September last, in the territory of Dungu in northeastern DRC, civilians have been the victims of violence perpetrated by armed men suspected of being Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.
Attacks, killings, looting and abductions have multiplied against civilians in several villages, in particular those of Bangadi, Kana, Napopo, Li-Mayi, Nduga, Kpaika, Duru and Dungu.
These attacks caused the deaths of at least 20 civilians since 19 October last, and the number of abducted people continues to increase, including more than 150 children.
Following the first attack on Dungu, the personnel of several international NGOs have been forced to leave the city.
Before the attack on Dungu, the majority of displaced people in Dungu were in families of reception, which had difficulties in feeding the displaced. Foodstuffs are already rare in Dungu, since the Bangadi road remains almost impassable (and insecure) for the foreseeable future.
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