ReliefWeb

Catholic Relief Services personnel in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are responding to the fast-moving, dangerous situation that has displaced thousands of Congolese families. In order to meet the most immediate needs, CRS has launched a $500,000 emergency response to aid those most vulnerable.

Working with its local Caritas partners, CRS is sending additional staff and gathering the resources needed to help those fleeing fighting between Congolese and rebel troops around the city of Goma.

In recent months, CRS and its partners have stepped up their presence in eastern Congo to deal with the growing numbers of people displaced by the failure of a January, 2008, accord that was supposed to bring peace to this strife-torn region.

Much of the humanitarian work has focused on the growing problem of sexual violence and the conflicts around the mining of valuable minerals in eastern Congo. Those efforts will continue as CRS and its partners expand their commitment to handle this emergency situation.