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KEY DEVELOPMENTS
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to face a multitude of humanitarian challenges resulting from armed militia group activity and associated displacement, lack of basic services, and endemic disease. The U.S.
Government remains the second largest contributor to humanitarian programs in the DRC, focusing efforts on conflict-affected North Kivu, South Kivu, and Orientale provinces.
The security situation continues to deteriorate in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu due to fighting within the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and among various armed militia groups, resulting in new population displacement and decreased humanitarian access. DRC President Joseph Kabila deployed additional troops to North Kivu and South Kivu in early April after soldiers linked to former opposition force commander Bosco Ntaganda—a FARDC general—started defecting from their posts, according to international media. However, on April 12, Kabila suspended military operations in North Kivu and South Kivu due to the high number of army defectors. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Ntaganda for war crimes charges. As of April 11, between 3,000 and 5,000 Congolese refugees remained in the Kisoro area of western Uganda due to recent clashes between FARDC factions.
The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)—a group of armed combatants moving between the Central African Republic (CAR), the DRC, and South Sudan—continues to affect populations in Orientale Province. Between February 24 and March 16, approximately 1,700 newly displaced people arrived in Dungu town after fleeing insecurity attributed to LRA combatants in the Faradje area of Haut-Uélé District in Orientale.
USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) continues to assess and respond to humanitarian needs in the DRC. In FY 2012 to date, USAID/OFDA has committed more than $9.2 million to support humanitarian coordination and information management, the provision of relief items, and life-saving health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions. FY 2012 funding complements the approximately $19.8 million provided in FY 2011 for programs that remain ongoing. In addition, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) has provided $17.5 million to address emergency food needs among vulnerable populations in the DRC, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, while the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) has provided more than $19.9 million for protection, refugee return and reintegration, and IDP and refugee support activities.