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DR Congo

Zaire - Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #8, Fiscal Year (FY) 1997

Note: The last fact sheet was dated April 1, 1997.
Background: In mid-October, 1996 fighting broke out in South Kivu, Zaire between the Zairian army (FAZ) and the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (Alliance) led by Laurent Kabila. The fighting spread north, west, and south, with the Alliance gaining territory on all fronts. The Alliance now controls the eastern fifth of Zaire. On March 15, the Alliance captured Kisangani. As the Alliance advances towards its next stated goal of Lubumbashi, it has already seized Kamina, a strategic rail junction located to the northwest of Lubumbashi, and Kasenga, 200 km northeast of Lubumbashi. Talks between Alliance and Zairian government authorities are expected to begin in South Africa on April 5.

Numbers Affected: The initial fighting caused Rwandan and Burundian refugees to flee, forcing over 890,000 Rwandans to return to Rwanda, 64,000 Burundians to repatriate and hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee west, scattering in small groups deeper into Zaire. There were 39,000 registered internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kisangani and missionary sources report that 4,000 IDPs have left Kisangani to return home. Recent estimates of the scattered refugee concentrations include: 6,000 - 8,000 in Punia; up to 3,000 in Lodja, 250 km west of Kindu; and 1,300 in Mbuji-Mayi, Kasai-Oriental province, with another 8,000 more reportedly en route. At least 80,000 refugees are clustered in several groups along the 125 km rail line west of the Zaire river between km 19 and 52 south of Kisangani. According to refugees, the former Rwandan army (ex-FAR) and Interahamwe militia members have separated from the refugees gathered along the rail line. On March 31, the United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that 20,000 - 30,000 fairly healthy refugees emerged at the village of Karuba, 13 km west of Sake. Another 2,500 emerged at Tongo, west of the former camps of Katale and Kahindo, north of Goma.

Current Humanitarian Situation: On March 31, the Alliance ordered refugees at Lula, seven km from Kisangani, to join refugees located at km 25. Only 700 of the most vulnerable refugees remain at Lula. At km 19 and 25, relief workers set up systems to chlorinate and filtrate water from tributaries of the Zaire river. Many of the refugees at km 41 appear severely malnourished and are unable to walk any farther. Very few refugees there have cooking pots, plastic sheeting, and other personal items. On April 1, a WFP train carried 120 metric tons (MT) of food for refugees concentrated along the rail line. WFP reports sufficient food stocks, including a barge which is traveling up the Zaire river toward Kisangani, with 260 MT of food. UNHCR submitted a plan to the Alliance and to the Government of Rwanda for repatriation of refugees along the rail line, but has not yet received a response. In the meantime, UNHCR has flown 2846 refugees from Tingi Tingi and Amisi to Goma, where they are repatriated and admitted to Gisenyi hospital in Rwanda. UNHCR began trucking the refugees in Karuba and Tongo directly to the Rwandan border on April 1, with 4750 transported on April 1 and 2. In March, 8627 Rwandan refugees repatriated from eastern Zaire. Zairians are also receiving assistance. Foraging by the refugees, ex-FAR, and Interahamwe affected villages between Ubundu and km 52. WFP plans to provide food-for-work distributions to affected Zairian populations, in exchange for help in improving the road parallel to the railway line.

U.S. Government (USG) Assistance: On March 14, USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team (USAID/DART) arrived in the region to help advance relief efforts in eastern Zaire. USAID/DART installed an information officer in Nairobi and a field officer in Goma. On March 30, USAID/DART visited major refugee concentrations along the railway line south of Kisangani, accompanied by WFP and Alliance officials. Two doctors from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived on April 3 and will be seconded to UNICEF/Goma. BHR/OFDA and the State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) have provided funding to the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist internally displaced Zairians and repatriating Rwandan refugees. State/PRM has also approved a $3 million contribution to UNHCR for Rwandan refugees repatriating from eastern Zaire. Between December and February, BHR's Office of Food for Peace provided roughly 2,500 MT of food to eastern Zaire from the Rwanda Regional Program.

Total OFDA Assistance (to date). . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000,000
Other USG Assistance (to date) . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,750,000
TOTAL USG FY 1997 Humanitarian Assistance (to date). . $9,750,000