One million civilians flee east DR Congo in surging attacks, IOM says

"Across the country, over 26 million people need humanitarian aid from a population of around 100 million," the IOM said. Read more.

Report at The EastAfrican - theeastafrican.co.ke

By AFP (Agence France-Presse) More by this Author

Dated Sunday 18 June 2023 - full copy:

One million civilians flee east DR Congo in surging attacks, IOM says

People displaced by war between M23 rebels and DRC army war flee towards the city of Goma in North Kivu Province on November 15, 2022. PHOTO | ALEXIS HUGUET | AFP

Almost one million people have fled their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo so far this year, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday.

"A surge in attacks on civilians by non-state armed groups has newly displaced close to one million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January," the IOM said in a statement.

"An estimated 6.1 million people are internally displaced in the DRC, a 17 percent increase from October 2022," it added.

"As the conflict intensifies, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, and millions are facing acute food insecurity as well as other critical needs," the UN agency said.

"Since the beginning of the year armed attacks against civilians in the eastern Kivu and Ituri regions have resulted in loss of life, massive population displacements and growing instability," the organisation stressed.

"Across the country, over 26 million people need humanitarian aid from a population of around 100 million," the IOM said.

In the early hours of Monday, at least 46 people, half of them children, were killed in a militia attack on a camp for displaced people in Ituri province, security analysts and a local community leader said.

That attack was blamed on the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (Codeco) militia, which claims to protect the Lendu community from rival ethnic group, the Hema.

"This tragedy also resulted in the renewed displacement of over 7,800 people from the site, destruction of shelter and personal belongings," the IOM said.

"IOM condemns this heinous violation of international humanitarian law and recalls that attacks against civilians may constitute war crimes," it added.

On Thursday the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced it will examine allegations of war crimes by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile east, after Kinshasa made a new formal referral to the tribunal.

Kinshasa has accused the M23 rebel group of attacks in the DRC's mineral-rich North Kivu, and says Rwanda is backing the Tutsi-led militia. Kigali denies any involvement in the violence.

Armed groups have plagued much of the eastern DRC for three decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.

Related
12 killed in east DR Congo militia attack 

Congo army, M23 trade blame for ceasefire violation 

Children among 46 killed in attack in east DRC

HRW: Mass graves found in east DR Congo village

View original: https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/one-million-civilians-flee-congo-as-attacks-surge-4273798

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DR Congo has an estimated 4.5 million internally displaced people

Press Release from UNHCR June 18, 2019

The UN Refugee Agency

Massive displacement reported in north-eastern DRC amid new violence

People are fleeing attacks and counter attacks in Djugu Territory with reports of both communities forming self-defense groups and being involved in revenge killings

JUBA, South Sudan, June 18, 2019/ -- This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Violence in north-eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is reported to have displaced more than 300,000 since early June. The situation in Ituri Province has deteriorated since the middle of last week, with multiple attacks involving the Hema and Lendu groups.

Inter-ethnic attacks between the two communities had already led to widespread displacement in late 2017 and early 2018, but the situation had calmed.

Large-scale displacement is reported in three of Ituri’s five administrative territories: Djugu, Mahagi and Irumu. People are fleeing attacks and counter attacks in Djugu Territory, with reports of both communities forming self-defense groups and being involved in revenge killings.

The estimates have been received from local sources in 125 locations. UNHCR and other humanitarian actors do not at present have access to most of the affected areas.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, fears this escalation could engulf large parts of the province. We are gravely concerned for the safety of civilians after receiving reports of killings, kidnappings, maiming and sexual violence being unleashed against people.

The majority of the displaced have sought shelter with the host communities. Some 30,000 arrived in existing displacement sites where conditions were already dire, with many needs including shelter and health.

Military operations are currently reported to be underway in Djugu territory to bring the situation under control.

UNHCR with its partners is working with the authorities to get a clearer picture as the displaced are in urgent need of shelter, basic household items and food. People are now sleeping in the open or in public buildings, with the biggest concentration of displaced people being 10,000 sleeping in or near the church in Drodro, Djugu Territory, without any viable assistance.

Nearly 20,000 people have reached Ituri’s provincial capital, Bunia. Efforts are underway to identify suitable sites around the city. Many more people are trying to get to the relative safety of sites near Bunia but are reportedly blocked by armed youth from both ethnic groups. Others are trying to cross Lake Albert to Uganda.

The humanitarian response is already over-stretched in this part of DRC with a series of other emergencies in the north-eastern region, and volatile security situation with little funding being available. Just south of Ituri, in North Kivu province, UNHCR has recently began an emergency response for nearly 100,000 displaced people in Nobili, near the border with Uganda.

DRC has an estimated 4.5 million internally displaced people. New displacement has been observed lately primarily in the eastern provinces, including Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

SOURCE: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

https://www.africa-newsroom.com/press/massive-displacement-reported-in-northeastern-drc-amid-new-violence?lang=en

UN chief calls for investigation into attack by Mai-Mai and FDLR in North Kivu, eastern DR Congo

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General on the Democratic Republic of the Congo
From United Nations – Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General - Wednesday, 25 August 2010/via APO:

(NEW YORK) - The Secretary-General is outraged by the rape and assault of at least 154 Congolese civilians, during an attack by armed elements of the Mai-Mai and the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR), in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This is another grave example of both the level of sexual violence and the insecurity that continue to plague the DRC.

The Secretary-General reiterates his call on all armed groups in the DRC to lay down their weapons and join the peace process. The Secretary-General further calls on the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to investigate this incident and bring to justice the perpetrators of these crimes and renew efforts to bring an end to insecurity in the eastern part of the country.

The United Nations supports the efforts of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to fight impunity and ensure the protection of civilians from violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including all forms of sexual and gender-based violence.

Given the seriousness of the incident, the Secretary-General has decided to dispatch immediately Assistant Secretary-General Atul Khare, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations to the DRC. He has also instructed his Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, to take charge of the UN’s response and follow-up to this incident.`
- - -

RDC : rapports de violences sexuelles au Nord Kivu, à l’Est de la République démocratique du Congo
NEW YORK, 25 août 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Déclaration du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies.

Le Secrétaire général est indigné par les viols et les agressions sexuelles dont ont été victimes au moins 154 civils congolais lors d’une attaque par des éléments armés Mai-Mai et les Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) à l’est de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC). Ces graves incidents illustrent à nouveau le niveau de violence sexuelle ainsi que l’insécurité qui continuent d’affecter la RDC.

Le Secrétaire général réitère son appel à la démobilisation des groupes armés en RDC et leur adhésion au processus de paix en cours. Le Secrétaire général appelle aussi les autorités congolaises à mener une enquête sur ces incidents, à poursuivre en justice les auteurs de ces crimes, et à renouveler leurs efforts pour mettre fin à l’insécurité qui sévit dans cette partie du pays.

Les Nations Unies soutiennent les efforts du Gouvernement de la RDC visant à lutter contre l’impunité et à protéger les civils contre les violations du droit international humanitaire et des droits de l’homme, notamment toutes les formes de violence sexuelle.

Étant donné la gravité de cet incident, le Secrétaire général a décidé de dépêcher immédiatement le Sous-secrétaire général aux opérations de maintien de la paix, Atul Khare, en RDC. Il a également demandé à sa Représentante spéciale pour la violence sexuelle dans les conflits, Margot Wallström, de diriger les initiatives des Nations Unies en réponse à cet incident ainsi que d’en assurer le suivi.

Click on labels here below to view reports in the archives of Congo Watch.

Congo Siasa blog: List of armed groups in the Kivus

TODAY, thanks to Alun McDonald's tweet (see details below), I found Jason Stearns' blog, Congo Siasa at http://congosiasa.blogspot.com and noted his list of armed groups in the Kivus published on 09 June 2010 at his blog post entitled List of armed groups in the Kivus.

According to the 'About' page at Congo Siasa blog, Mr Stearns has been working on the conflict in the DR Congo for the past eight years, most recently as the Coordinator of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Congo (2008). He has also worked for Heritiers de la Justice, a local human rights NGO (2001), the UN peacekeeping mission MONUC (2002-2004) and the International Crisis Group (2005-2007). A book he wrote on the conflict, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, is due to be published soon. He is currently obtaining his PhD at Yale University.

Hat tip: Alun McDonald's tweet 10 June 2010 - A who’s who of armed groups in eastern Congo http://is.gd/cJOt5.

Note, according to Mr McDonald's bio, he is based in Nairobi, Kenya, "working for Oxfam, covering Sudan, Congo, Somalia and everywhere in between". See alunmcdonald's photostream at Flickr and the photo set on Sudan where he lived between 2006 and 2009. Most of the photos were taken in Darfur, South Sudan, the eastern Red Sea State, Khartoum (the capital), and the northern desert. The photos from Great Lakes: Congo, Uganda, Rwanda were taken from between 04 May 2009 and 30 June 2009. Here is a sample.



A hotel in Kiwanja, North Kivu, destroyed in the fighting in late 2008. In November 2008, a massacre in this small town killed 150 people. (Photo and caption by Alun McDonald)



A camp in North KIvu, sheltering thousands of people who fled the fighting in late 2008. (Photo and caption by Alun McDonald)



UN peacekeepers set up a military checkpoint in North Kivu, eastern Congo. (Photo and caption by Alun McDonald)



Red Cross tented hospital in North Kivu, eastern Congo. (Photo and caption by Alun McDonald)



Main street in Goma, the state capital in eastern Congo. The volcano - which glows red at night - dominates the town. (Photo and caption by Alun McDonald)

MSF: DR Congo army has used vaccination clinics as "bait" to attack civilians in N. Kivu

The Congolese government says military operations in the area have been suspended to allow an inquiry into the UN allegations that soldiers had killed civilians.

From BBC News Friday, 6 November 2009:
DR Congo army 'used aid as bait'

The Democratic Republic of Congo army has used vaccination clinics as "bait" to attack civilians, says aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

Thousands of Hutu civilians were targeted when they visited sites set up to combat a measles epidemic, in areas controlled by the rebels, MSF said.

It denounced the attacks in North Kivu as "an abuse of humanitarian action".

On Monday the UN withdrew its support for a government army unit, accusing soldiers of killing 62 civilians.

MSF said the clinics were targeted despite security guarantees from all parties to enable the mass immunisation scheme to be carried out in the Maisisi district north-west of the city of Goma.

It said it was operating in support of the Ministry of Health, whose workers were unable to access regions controlled by the Hutu rebel group, the FDLR.

"We feel we were used as bait," said Luis Encinas, head of MSF programmes in Central Africa.

"How will MSF be perceived by the population now? Will our patients still feel safe enough to come for medical care?"

The targeting of civilians has been a major concern for charities operating in DR Congo and UN support for the government had been dependent on it respecting the neutrality of civilians.

The Congolese government says military operations in the area have been suspended to allow an inquiry into the UN allegations that soldiers had killed civilians.

The UN had been helping the army tackle the FDLR since January 2009.

The rebels have been at the heart of years of unrest in the region.

Their leaders fled to the area in 1994 after being accused of taking part in Rwanda's genocide and have since been fighting with the local Tutsi population and government troops.

Deadly attack Aug 12th by armed militiamen in a mine-rich area of east of DR Congo

From UN News Centre, Saturday, 15 August 2009:
UN blue helmets provide help in wake of deadly attack in east of DR Congo

The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is providing medical assistance to the victims of a deadly attack by armed militiamen in a mine-rich area in the strife-torn east of the country.

Media reports say at least 16 people were killed during Wednesday's attack, which took place in the remote village of Mpama in North Kivu province, close to the mines at Biseye. Mining is a lucrative source of income in the impoverished region, which continues to be beset by outbreaks of fighting involving militia groups and the army.

Troops from the Congolese army (FARDC) stationed nearby were dispatched to find the militiamen, but they had already fled, according to a press statement issued today by the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC.

Alan Doss, the head of MONUC and the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the DRC, denounced the attack.

“Nothing can justify these crimes committed by the armed groups that strike at civilians,” Mr. Doss said.

MONUC established a medical assistance team in the nearby town of Ishenga to treat the injured, with some others evacuated to other centres. The blue helmets have also stepped up their patrols in the Walikale-Biseye area.

(Hat tip: ISRIA)- - -



From MONUC Kinshasa, Friday, 14 August 2009:
MONUC Blue Helmets keeping the peace in Orientale province

MONUC’s Blue Helmets, stationed in Orientale province in northeastern DRC continue to work hard in the troubled districts of Haut Uele and Ituri, to keep the peace, protect the population and assist the DRC Armed Forces against the activities of the LRA rebels in Haut Uele and residual armed groups in Ituri.

In Haut Uele, the MONUC Moroccan contingent, comprising of 290 Blue Helmets, are working in the areas of Dungu, Duru and Faradje to protect the civilian population. These peacekeepers live in tents in the middle of the jungle with no infrastructure, in what MONUC Military Spokesman Jean Paul Dietrich described as “the most difficult living conditions in the mission.”

Other tasks include patrols and the escorting of humanitarian food convoys, up to a 50km radius outside of Dungu.

Through Operation Rudia II, MONUC is providing assistance to a large part of the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) based in Dungu territory, with rations, transport and medical evacuations.

A MONUC Indonesian engineering company is currently working on the Dungu-Duru road, and once completed it will greatly improve the transport network in the area.

It will also allow humanitarian convoys greater access to the interior, where an estimated 181,000 people are displaced and in need of assistance due to the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

In the past week, the LRA have launched new sporadic attacks in areas close to the Central African Republic border, in an apparent attempt to escape the military pressure being exerted on them.

In Ituri, over 3,500 Blue Helmets are working to pacify the district, which has experienced residual militia activity by groups such as the “Front de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri” (FRPI) and the “Front Populaire pour la Justice au Congo” (FPJC). According to OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 176,000 people are still displaced in the district.

The joint operation “Iron Stone” is currently in progress, with MONUC forces assisting the FARDC in the planning of military operations. MONUC is also assisting the FARDC with rations, transport, fire support and medical evacuations.

In the past week, the FARDC have attacked militia position in the Poto Poto valley, and are still engaged in the consolidation of operations in the south of Irumu territory. In recent joint operations against the FRPI and the FPJC, 11 militiamen were killed and many others fled.

Mama Jeanne heads the one branch of a CRN/CEPAC project to reach out and help rape victims in North Kivu province

Here is a copy of an email received today:

Subject: Child sponsorship program

Dear Ingrid,

I hope you don't mind me contacting you as I found your details on an article in Congo Watch. I was trying to find details of the child sponsorship program run at the Mama Jeanne orphanage in Goma and how to sponsor a child. If you could point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated as I now feel as though I have lost myself somewhere on the web!
Once again my apologies for bothering you
Regards [...]

A few minutes later I did a Google search on the words: Mama Jeanne orphanage in Goma, and found the following report by Christian Relief Network (CRN). If anyone reading this has information on the child sponsorship programme run at the Mama Jeanne orphanage in Goma and how to sponsor a child, please share it in the comments here. Thanks. Meanwhile, I shall respond to the email by providing a link to this blog post and send the same link to CRN in the hope that they may assist. Copied here below are the contact details for CRN.

From Christian Relief Network 09/05/2008:
Mother to thousands

Mama Jeanne is a tall woman who embraces with warmth, smiles with her eyes and talks enthusiastically in the midst of the many crises in DR Congo. Photo: Endre Vestvik

Mama Jeanne (45) thinks that God gives her energy – in abundance. She is the mother to eight of her own children and 127 orphans. Hundreds of children have passed through her care through the years.

Mama Jeanne is a tall woman who embraces with warmth, smiles with her eyes, talks enthusiastically and, in the midst of the many crises in DR Congo, has new projects in her head. No problem is too small when it comes to Mama Jeanne. She can get angry, disappointed and then she does something about it.

In the volcanic wastelands of Goma town she runs a home for orphans and a rehabilitation centre for rape victims. She heads the one branch of a CRN/CEPAC project to reach out and help rape victims in North Kivu province. The two aspects of her work intertwine.

“Four of the children here were raped by soldiers. It is an increasing problem. I just want to cry when they violate children. We need more focus on this, says Mama Jeanne as she shows us around the home.

“The thing that keeps me going is when I see the results of what we do,” says Mama Jeanne. She shows pictures of children who have been in her care that have gotten married or are studying at university.

Since the age of 18 she has looked after children who have lost their parents. In this part of the world, death can happen fast. Malaria is rampant, aids take its toll, and the war has resulted in over five million deaths. Through the years, over 1.700 children have looked on Mama Jeanne as their surrogate mother.

CRN had not been working long in DR Congo before they met Mama Jeanne. She used to run an orphanage in the hills in Masisi. On a number of occasions she had to flee into the rainforest with the children to avoid the soldiers rampaging through the town. “The rebels were killing everyone with education. They were hunting for my husband and I. Many of our neighbours were killed and one of our ministers. I was on the run in the bush for six months. The rebels burnt down the children’s home,” she tells. With the help of CRN she established a new home in Goma. “Before the start of the most recent fighting I had plans to build new children’s homes a number of places in the province. There need is enormous,” says Mama Jeanne.

“To help women and children is the vision of God.”

CRN's work in the region started with orphan children. In 1994 they met an incredible woman, Mama Christine, in the refugee camps outside of Goma. She had previously run an orphanage in Rwanda. After the genocide and the invasion of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) over two million Hutu fled into neighbouring DR Congo (then Zaire), including Mama Christine and her children. When Rwanda and Congolese rebels invaded the country and attacked the Hutu refugee camps in 1996, over 800.000 people fled into the rainforests. CRN managed to find all the 157 children from the orphanage who had fled in panic. They were returned to Rwanda. Mama Christine who was in her eighties died shortly afterwards. New homes were found for the Rwandan children, while the remaining Congolese children were cared for by Mama Jeanne in Masisi.

From the website of Christian Relief Network:

Contact details:

Post Address:
Serviceboks 410
4604 Kristiandsand
Norway

Visit Address:
Bergtorasvei 120
4664 Kristiandsand
Norway

Phone: (+47) 22 01 07 00
Email: info@crn.no

Bank account: 9791 10 88820
Org.no.: NO 871 529 302 MVA
Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers AS