Renewed Violence in Eastern Congo Threatening Relief Operations
The targeting of humanitarian organizations in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by armed militias, including violent attacks and looting, could cause serious disruption of relief operations
The targeting of humanitarian organizations in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by armed militias, including violent attacks and looting, could cause serious disruption of relief operations, according to the latest update by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The district of Ituri—where some 50,000 people have been killed and half a million uprooted from their homes during intense fighting between several militias last year—has witnessed “a worrying and continuous increase of activity” from different armed groups for several weeks now, OCHA reported.
According to the UN News Service, local humanitarian personnel working in the sites have been accused of treason and are being threatened, while shooting between militias and the UN Observer Mission in DRC (MONUC) is becoming a common event.
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Due to the insecurity, humanitarian organizations have been strongly advised to avoid the northern axes of Bunia, the main town in Ituri. Two international non-government organizations (NGOs) have already suspended their activities following violent attacks by militia on the roads north and south of Bunia. For others, harassment from armed men has directly affected the progress of their program.
Some organizations have similarly been subjected to the temporary confiscation of their vehicles, refused access to vulnerable people or had their humanitarian aid pillaged. Evaluation and assistance missions have been cancelled, and a growing number of exactions are also being committed against local NGOs and their personnel, UN News reports.
Meanwhile, OCHA said “other reprehensible acts” were aimed specifically against MONUC, its local personnel or the local humanitarian workers involved in the implementation of DCR.
“Ituri is experiencing a renewed cycle of violence in the middle of which are caught civilian populations and those who are attempting to support them,” the agency added. “The continuation of assistance to the most vulnerable people affected by conflicts will depend on the capacity of the humanitarian actors to maintain their presence in that area.”
World Vision, which is providing assistance to undernourished children in its feeding centers in Beni—around 250 miles north of Goma in Eastern Congo—reported last month that insecurity in the area had lead to increased levels of malnutrition. “The humanitarian need in the DRC is still great,” World Vision reported, “particularly in the east of the country where three million people are believed to have been displaced from their homes by insecurity since 1996.”
In partnership with WFP and UNICEF, World Vision has been providing supplementary and therapeutic feeding to children identified as most in need. As well as feeding the children, World Vision is also educating their mothers on how to prevent malnutrition by providing balanced diets.
