Kampene om en af det østlige DR Congos vigtigste byer, Goma, kostede 31 menneskeliv, heraf 10 soldater fra den flygtende regeringshær, men det værste er i vente – for elektriciteten er afbrudt og vandet i den nærliggende store sø sundhedsfarligt.
GOMA, 22 November 2012 (IRIN): The guns may be silent and a sense of calm restored to the city of Goma in eastern DR Congo since rebels took it over on Tuesday, but its population of around a million – swollen by tens of thousands of newly displaced civilians – now faces other perils (farer).
In the fighting between government troops and the M23 rebels now in control of Goma, a main electricity line was cut, leaving large areas of the city without power or piped water.
“We have more than one million inhabitants and additional displaced persons (fordrevne) here without water. The only point where they can collect water is the lake,” said Arthur Sarazin, the head of NGO Merlin’s North Kivu operations.
“And the lake Kivu water is not safe to drink,” Sarazin added, as a group of young people stripped bare and washed themselves behind him.
The water contains cholera bacteria and other waterborne diseases. With little access to sanitation, he says there is an extremely high risk of outbreaks of communicable (smitsomme) disease.
Sarazin said he expected the water supply to resume soon. “Our priority now is preparing for the returning of displaced civilians”, he said.
The British NGO, Oxfam, estimates there are 120.000 people on the move in the Goma area, including 60.000 who fled Kanyaruchinya camp for displaced people, 15 km north of Goma, ahead of M23’s advance.
Unsafe water
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96858/DRC-No-power-little-safe-water-in-Goma
Se også telegrammet
http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/22-11-12/fn-styrker-bliver-i-goma-i-dr-congo
