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Complex Emergency in the Kasai region DR Congo Situation Report No. 8 (22 June 2017)

Attachments

This report was produced by OCHA DR Congo in collaboration with partners in Kasai, Central Kasai and Eastern Kasai. It covers the period from 1 June (following the SitRep n°7) to 22 June 2017. The Kasai region here refers to the provinces of Kasai, Central Kasai, Eastern Kasai, Lomami and Sankuru.

Highligths

• Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien has declared that the situation in the Kasai region is a Corporate Emergence for OCHA.

• OCHA's Director of Operations, Mr. John Ging, visited Kananga on 9 June, where he met affected civilians and humanitarian actors.

• The Humanitarian Coordinator, Mamadou Diallo, on 22 June approved USD $2 million to be disbursed from the Humanitarian Fund for assistance in protection and education.

• Some 56,000 newly displaced persons have been registered in the town of Tshikapa (Kasai province) since the last report.

• Some 500 girls and boys used as combatants or "human shield" by militias and 600 cases of gender-based violence (GBV), reported since August 2016.

1.3 M
Internally displaced persons

140,404
Returnees

130,000
Host communities members/ families

352,000
Persons covered by the current emergency assistance

30,000
Congolese who have fled to Angola

8,414
Congolese expelled from Angola

Situation overview

Population displacement caused by conflict continues, with 55,940 new internally displaced persons reported since the last situation report (Sitrep 7). Meanwhile, the number of Congolese refugees who have fled the Kasai region for Angola is now 30,0007 , according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - an increase of 6,500 in less than a month.

On a daily basis, civilians are being subjected to severe violence perpetrated not only by alleged militiamen Kamuina Nsapu but also by members of other militias.
Serious incidents of protection were allegedly perpetrated by an ethnic militia in Kasai Province in early June: the alleged massacre of the population of Kamanyenga; the looting of medicines and equipment from the Mulunda Tshonza reference health center, 45 km from Tshikapa; and the rape of five women on the Tshikapa-Kananga axis. In addition, on 10 June, 12 people were reportedly beheaded by alleged militiamen Kamuina Nsapu in Kalala Diboko (Luiza territory) in the Kasai Central Province. According to local sources, the militia also allegedly attacked three young employees of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) – who are reportedly still missing - in the territory of Tshilenge (Eastern Kasai).

The protection situation stands alarming, with 500 girls and boys being used as combatants or “human shields” by militias. In addition, 600 cases of gender-based violence - mainly rape - have been reported since the beginning of the crisis in August 2016, according to the results of a gender-based assessment mission in Kasai and Kasai Oriental provinces (26 May to 2 June). From January to May 2017, UNICEF and partners succeeded in releasing 474 children associated with the militia and detained in Kananga prison. 150,000 children of primary school age are denied access to education in Central Kasai Province, following the destruction of 639 schools by attacks, according to UNICEF.

Despite a security lull in several areas which has helped to contain the conflict, violence still persists and limits humanitarian access. In Central Kasai Province, the situation is calm in Kananga but volatile in the territories of Demba, Dimbelenge and Dibaya. In Kasai Province, unstable areas include: the Kamonia axis, the Angolan border, and the Kabambaye-Katoka axis (north of Tshikapa). In Eastern Kasai, insecurity persists in the territories of Kamiji, as well as the southern parts of Luilu and Miabi.

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