BUNIA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, January 6 (UNHCR): The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, staff have taken part in a joint assessment mission to an area of north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo hit by deadly attacks in recent weeks by a rebel Ugandan group.
A UN team, gathering members of UNHCR and sister agencies, met local officials, representatives of local non-governmental organizations (NGO), and displaced civilians during last weekend’s visit to the towns of Tadu and Faradje in Orientale province.
The rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) attacked Faradje, some 100 kilometres west of the border between the DR Congo, Sudan and Uganda, on December 25-26, leaving at least 70 people dead and forcing some 37.000 to flee.
According to initial estimates, LRA fighters have killed up to 500 Congolese civilians in various attacks in the region since the launch on December 14 of a joint Congolese, Sudanese and Ugandan military operation against the rebels.
The UN estimates more than 50.000 people have been displaced since mid-December, which is in addition to the 50.000 displaced during an earlier escalation of violence between September and November last year.
The latest rebel attack came on Monday in the Orientale village of Napopo. According to a sketchy report received by UNHCR, up to eight people were killed and houses set ablaze. An unknown number of people were reportedly kidnapped. Two days earlier, rebels attacked the village of Nagero, 24 kms north-west of Faradje, killing at least eight people and displacing some 3.500.
Meanwhile, the joint UN team found that most of those displaced by the LRA’s Christmas attack on Faradje and its surroundings were still hiding in the bush. Some of the displaced moved towards Tadu, 37 kms south of Faradje where more than 1.000 displaced people have been registered, mostly women and children.
Registration of the newly displaced population is under way in Tadu, Faradje and neighbouring villages. The population is in dire need of food, shelter, medicine, clothes and other aid items. However, the area remains highly volatile and insecurity is a key obstacle for access by UNHCR and other aid agencies. The refugee agency is working with the local authorities and others to find ways of managing assistance in these inaccessible areas.
Kilde: www.unhcr.org
