30,000 displaced by attacks in Lomami river
valley, Kasai Oriental
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© IRIN
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KINSHASA, 3 Mar 2003 (IRIN) -
Slightly over
30,000 people have been displaced since late 2002 by attacks and
counterattacks by Mayi-Mayi militias and the Rwandan-backed
Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma (RCD-Goma) rebel
movement along the western bank of the River Lomami, between
Katako Kombe and Lubefu, in Kasai Oriental Province, central
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to Catholic
Relief Services (CRS), the official relief and development
agency of the US Catholic community.
In response, CRS and its local partners, Caritas and BDOM/Tshumbe,
are planning a distribution of agricultural implements, fishing
nets, and non-food items, as well as medical kits from the UN
Children's Fund (UNICEF), with transportation of these goods
from the capital, Kinshasa, to the diocese of Tshumbe, financed
by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
"Attacks intensified between September 2002 and January 2003,
forcing the population to abandon their farms and seek refuge in
the areas around Tshumbe, Wembonyama, Lubefu and Katako Kombe,"
CRS reported.
Displaced residents told CRS that attacks in the area had begun
in April 2002, forcing many to periodically take refuge in
nearby forests.
"The displaced report that their villages were repeatedly looted
and burned, that crops were
destroyed, and that there were cases of torture, execution and
rape. Most of the displaced are staying with host families,
while others sleep in the open. It is reported that some
additional victims of the attacks have yet to emerge from the
forest for fear of being mistaken for Mayi-Mayi by the RCD-Goma
forces," CRS stated.
The River Lomami separates the provinces of Kasai Oriental and
Maniema.
The affected area of the river valley has been under the control
of RCD-Goma since early 1998.
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