Renewed Fighting Displaces 100,000 More Civilians in Eastern Congo
Renewed combat in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has caused a drastic deterioration in the humanitarian situation and immense suffering for civilians, the Congo Advocacy Coalition, a group of 83 aid agencies and human rights groups, said today. The coalition called for urgent action to improve protection of civilians and an immediate increase in assistance to vulnerable populations.

Since August 28, 2008, fighting has resumed between the Congolese army and the forces of a renegade general, Laurent Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), as well as other armed groups, breaking a fragile ceasefire that had been in place since the Goma peace agreement was signed on January 23. An estimated 100,000 civilians were forced to flee in the most recent violence, including many who had been displaced by earlier waves of fighting. 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.

“The situation for civilians is desperate, and it threatens to deteriorate further if fighting continues,” said Rebecca Feeley of the ENOUGH Project. “All the parties who signed the Goma peace agreement should adhere strictly to their obligations, including to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian and human rights law.”

The heavy fighting, the worst since the ceasefire was signed, started in Rutshuru territory in North Kivu province before spreading to Masisi territory and then to Kalehe territory in South Kivu. Since January 23, the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC, has recorded more than 250 ceasefire violations in both North and South Kivu. Each round of fighting 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 there are reports that others, including children, were abducted and forcibly recruited into armed service. In Kirotshe, a female worker at the local health center was shot in the stomach on September 11 while the CNDP and soldiers from the Congolese army fought for control of the town. Another woman who fled from Nyamubingwa village said she left behind three women who had been raped by armed combatants. Much of her village was looted.

“Again and again, we are attacked, we flee, our houses are pillaged, and then we are displaced with nothing,” said one man, whose house was looted by two different militia groups after he fled from Nyamubingwa on September 10.

Roadblocks erected by the Congolese army and militia groups prevented many civilians from escaping to safety. In some cases, civilians fleeing combat were only permitted to pass if they paid fines or handed over their electoral cards (which serve as identification in Congo) and other goods which they managed to carry from their homes.

Even outside of combat zones, Congolese army soldiers, sent to the region in increasing numbers, killed or injured civilians, often in the process of pillaging their property. In Minova and neighboring villages of South Kivu, for example, four civilians were killed by indiscriminate fire from soldiers who were looting the area. In some areas, Congolese army soldiers, as well as members of armed groups, are also involved in illicit mining activities in the rich gold and tin mines across the Kivu provinces, systematically extorting from civilians, in particular through the imposition of illegal “taxes.”

“Congolese army officers and leaders of armed groups must take urgent steps to control and discipline their troops,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “They are responsible for keeping their soldiers and combatants from killing, harassing and abusing the population.”

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 the UN peacekeeping force, MONUC. The crowds said they were angry about what they saw as MONUC’s failure to end the conflict and protect the population.

“The signatories to the Goma peace agreement agreed to protect civilians, remove roadblocks and allow humanitarian access to populations in need, yet communities have witnessed them doing precisely the opposite,” said Juliette Prodhan, country director for Oxfam GB in DRC. “All parties must live up to their commitments and cease such attacks immediately.”
Link to HRW