Conflict in Eastern DRC

Since September 2008, LRA rebels from neighboring Uganda have committed acts of extreme violence against people in Haut-Uélé and Bas-Uélé provinces in northeastern DRC. In March, the situation deteriorated further when countries in the region launched a joint military offensive against the LRA.

Intense conflict and violence continues to affect hundreds of thousands of civilians in the provinces of North and South Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The toll of sexual violence remains extremely high. During clashes and brutal attacks on villages, people are killed, raped, wounded, or forced to flee to the bush or to camps.

After a relative lull in fighting for the last two months in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, violence has erupted once again on the city's streets.

People in the northern region of North Kivu province, in the east of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been fleeing violence since late January, when an offensive was launched by DRC's army against the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing medical care in several of the regions’ towns and villages, where the population includes nearly 230,000 displaced persons. 

Geneva, March 16, 2009 – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) confirms that on Sunday, March 15, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) carried out attacks on Banda, a village in Haut Uélé, in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo. MSF has been providing treatment for patients with sleeping sickness for almost a year in Banda, a village 150km southwest of Doruma.

An 8-year-old girl is examined by medical staff in an MSF isolation center in Western Kasai Province, central Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). She was brought there by her father who suspected she was a victim of an Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the area.

Some 900 people have been systematically murdered in a string of brutal attacks across northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since the end of 2008. The attacks were carried out in the country’s Haut Uélé Province by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group active in Uganda and Sudan for over two decades.

In the midst of the conflict in Kivu, MSF strives to provide medical care to victims of sexual violence. Rape is widespread, but access to patients is a challenge. With the help of a network of women working in villages, the word is spreading and more victims are seeking care. Yet, fighting, geographic isolation and the fear of disclosing the rape prevent many women from seeking care in Masisi, a district in North Kivu.

A landslide hit a displaced persons’ camp in Masisi town, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on February 4, killing eight people. The majority of victims were young children; two were teenagers.

The event in question occurred on 24 December 2008, in a village in the area of Batande, seven kilometers north of Doruma, in the Haut-Uele. This testimony was collected in Doruma on 30 December.

Dungu/Kinshasa, DRC/Geneva/Nairobi, February 4, 2009 – As the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) continues to unleash violence against the people of Haut-Uélé in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the intensity of the targeted violence has prompted MSF to denounce MONUC—the United Nations peacekeeping force in eastern DRC—for its inaction in protecting the population. Tens of villages have been burned, hundreds of civilians have been stabbed or clubbed to death, and men, women, and children have been abducted.

Since October 2008, following the latest fighting between armed groups in North Kivu province, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have been assisting refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the Uganda border. At the Ishasha border crossing, the number of new arrivals has decreased significantly as the fighting in DRC eased.

Civilians are fleeing to Uganda to escape the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Refugees in Matanda camp, which serves as a transitory camp, just over the border in Ishasha, say they are afraid to go back, fearing violence, massacres, and forced conscription into the military or armed groups. The little news they receive from relatives who remain there reinforces their belief that it is not safe to return.

More than three weeks after the Christmas attacks on the towns of Faradje and Doruma and three days after the invasion of Tora—all in the Haut Uélé district of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) combatants are continuing their devastating assaults against civilians, and moving closer to the Dungu area.

Following the attack of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on the city of Faradje (Haut Uélé) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on December 25, an MSF team went there on December 28 to provide emergency medical assistance.

Since September 2007 renewed fighting in North Kivu has caused massive displacement in the region. A ceasefire agreement signed in January 2008 was not respected, and by the end of August large-scale fighting had broken out again in the region between various armed groups and the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), despite the presence of the world’s largest UN peacekeeping force, MONUC.

Massive forced civilian displacements, violence, and unmet medical needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, and Pakistan, along with neglected medical emergencies in Myanmar and Zimbabwe, are some of the worst humanitarian and medical emergencies in the world, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported today in its annual list of the “Top Ten” humanitarian crises.

An update of each area where MSF is present in North and South Kivu provinces and across the border in Uganda.

There was no major fighting reported in North Kivu this past week, but sporadic skirmishes between armed groups continued to drive civilians out of their homes and into the forests for days or during the nights, where they hoped to avoid being harassed. The overall improved security for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical teams allowed staff to redeploy to areas where they had been running projects, and carry out evaluations and mobile medical clinics in the surrounding areas. In all MSF projects in North Kivu, cholera cases have been decreasing.

For the past several weeks Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have been assessing the refugee situation at the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, more than 27,000 people have crossed the border with Uganda since the end of August. Monique Doux, Field Coordinator in Matanda Refugee camp, close to the border town of Ishasha, talks about the situation there.

In the month of October, the MSF team in Mweso saw thousands of people fleeing along the road in front of the hospital. Fighting was raging in the areas to the north, right up to the edge of Mweso itself. In the operating room, the number of war-wounded patients increased dramatically.

For the past several weeks, MSF teams have been assessing the refugee situation at the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. An 11-person team (three doctors, four nurses and three logisticians) are now working in three different sites to offer assistance to the refugees.

Recent fighting in the area of Kanyabayonga has forced hundreds of people to flee and hampered humanitarian efforts. Some of the displaced people who were hiding in the forest have now started to slowly return to town. "Despite the perception of a relative calm, violence is continuing in several areas of  North Kivu," says Gilduin Blanchard, MSF head of mission in Goma. "Thousands are currently on the run, forced to flee their homes again. This is happening right now, far from the media spotlight."

Today, an MSF international team is resuming its work in Kayna hospital, Lubero district, where security has been poor over the past week. Recent fighting in the area forced hundreds of people to flee and hampered humanitarian efforts. Most of the population of Kanyabayonga, further south, has left the town. MSF is extremely worried about the fate of thousands of people currently hiding in the bush in fear. The team’s top priority is to find them and provide them with urgent assistance.

New York, November 20, 2008 — The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today launched “Condition:Critical,” a multimedia initiative aiming to bring global attention to the humanitarian consequences of the intensifying war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

MSF provides health care (medical consultations, hospitalizations, and surgery) in North Kivu province’s Rutshuru, Masisi, and Lubero districts. MSF works in Rutshuru hospital and supports Mweso, Masisi and Kitchanga hospitals as well as health centres in these districts, and also runs a network of mobile clinics.

Teams continue to work at a hospital and health centers in Rutshuru and Kiwanja, where the situation is now stable. Activities in the hospital are becoming routine; on average, ten surgeries are now performed per day. There are a number of requests from health centers to transfer patients from Kinyandoni and Kibututu to the hospital in Rutshuru. Among these patients, there are several children affected by severe or moderate malnutrition.

He and his ten-year-old brother were in the forest in the Nyanzale area when fighting broke out. "We were caught right in the middle of heavy gunfire. We were really scared and had nowhere to run. We were literally caught between two groups shooting at each other. "

MSF remains very concerned about the many people still fleeing the ongoing violence. Many displaced and local residents are in urgent need of food, clean water, healthcare, and basic items such as blankets and shelter materials.

MSF teams are continuing to work in Goma and in other towns and villages in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The organization remains very concerned about the many people still on the move after fleeing recent fighting. While some displaced people are returning to their places of origin around North Kivu, many of the displaced and local residents continue to be in urgent need of food, clean water, healthcare and basic items like blankets and shelter materials.

Since fighting broke out in and around the town of Kiwanja in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo on November 5th and 6th, MSF surgical teams have treated dozens of wounded people in the MSF-supported hospital in the neighboring town of Rutshuru. Half of the wounded are children. Thousands of people who have fled the fighting in Kiwanja have sought shelter on the road between the two towns, in churches, and even inside Rutshuru hospital.

Since fighting broke out in and around the town of Kiwanja on November 5th and 6th, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) surgical teams have treated more than 50 wounded people in the MSF-supported hospital in the neighboring town of Rutshuru. Thousands of people who have fled the fighting in Kiwanja have sought shelter on the road between the two towns, in churches, and even inside Rutshuru hospital. Thierry Allafort, Emergency Coordinator, describes the situation in Rutshuru.

Goma, DRC - November 6, 2008 – Relief convoys under armed escort by MONUC, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are creating confusion between independent humanitarian assistance and military action in the North Kivu region of the country. Keeping the two separate is crucial, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today.

Annie Desilets is the project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Kitchanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province. She’s with a team of more than 160 MSF staff working 85 km – or four hours by road – north of provincial capital, Goma. There are two camps in the Kitchanga area. One has an estimated 25,000 displaced people, while the other has 18,000. And the numbers are growing. The medical teams are concerned about an increase in upper respiratory infections and cholera cases

In displaced persons camps in Kibati, just north of Goma in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, scores of people are seeking refuge from recent fighting. Here are just a few of their stories.

MSF is continuing to work in Goma and in other towns and villages in the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The organization remains very concerned about the tens of thousands of people still on the move who have fled the recent fighting. Without improvements in the security situation, people will be forced to continue running.

MSF is continuing to work in Goma and in other towns and villages in the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The organization is extremely concerned about the tens of thousands of people currently on the move, fleeing fighting. The displaced people are in urgent need of clean water, basic items like blankets and shelter materials, and food.

The humanitarian situation in the Kivu region of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is continuing to deteriorate rapidly. Over the weekend, intense fighting erupted around the town of Rutshuru, some 70 kilometers from the provincial capital, Goma. On Sunday, MSF medical teams in Rutshuru treated 70 war wounded and have since been working around the clock.

Goma, DRC, October 6, 2008 – In the most volatile parts of North Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), violence has reached its highest levels in years while assistance is hardly reaching those most in need

The MSF team working in Masisi hospital provided emergency surgery to 17 civilians and armed men injured in the crossfire. Despite the insecurity, MSF was able to keep the hospital running, including a nutritional center with 54 malnourished children.

MSF has been forced to evacuate teams from some areas and redeploy to other areas in North Kivu province as a result of heavy fighting that began on August 28. The people of North Kivu, already suffering from nearly constant violence, find themselves once again on the battlefield.

Epidemics, rape, and constant movement to escape violence in North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo, have taken their toll on the population. "These people are exhausted, increasingly weak, and consequently, increasingly ill," says an MSF coordinator in Masisi.

Both the displaced and the residents in North Kivu lack the most basic living standards, such as good hygiene conditions, clean water, food, and healthcare. As a result, there are disease outbreaks.

Since 1998, civilians in the DRC's North Kivu province have been caught in the middle of a battle for control between local and foreign militias, and the Congolese army. MSF teams have been on the forefront of trying to assist people trapped by the conflict.

Despite a ceasefire agreement signed in January by the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and armed groups, insecurity persists in North Kivu province. The population is subject to violent attacks and must flee, often multiple times. Romain Gitenet, MSF head of mission in DRC, provides an update on MSF’s work there.

When fighting erupted between armed groups and government forces in the North Kivu province of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in August 2007, it forced an estimated 10,000 Congolese to flee for safety over the border into Uganda.  Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) helped set up a transit site in Nyakabanda, situated about 10 miles from the DRC border in Uganda’s Kisoro district. Nurse Laura Cobey arrived to be field coordinator for the MSF project in October, just as a renewed surge in fighting pushed another wave of Congolese to seek refuge in Nyakabanda. Cobey describes the quick opening of the site and conditions for the estimated 13,000 people who lived there until its December closing.

New York, December 20, 2007 — People struggling to survive violence, forced displacement, and disease in the Central African Republic (CAR), Somalia, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere often went underreported in the news this year and much of the past decade, according to the 10th annual list of the “Top Ten” Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories, released today by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Since 1998, civilians in the North Kivu province of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been caught in the middle of a battle for control between local and foreign militias, the Congolese army, and UN forces. In late 2007, new waves of fighting began more massive displacements of an already weakened population.

Clashes have forced tens of thousands to flee in search of safety, with many settling in the Rutshuru area. At the town hospital, MSF is handling a sharp increase in the number of patients.

Violence in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has intensified since August 2007, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and creating major obstacles for people to access health care. Jane Coyne, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) head of mission in DRC, provides an update of situation in North Kivu, and explains the toll that lack of basic health care is taking on the people of this region.

Over the past few months new waves of fighting in the North Kivu province of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have caused the massive displacement of an already weakened civilian population. While no precise number can be given, several hundreds of thousands of people are thought to have been displaced by the violence since the beginning of the year. Many are said to be living in the forest without adequate shelter, water, medical care or food and under the continuous threat of insecurity, too scared to travel to health clinics.

Kinshasa/Bunia/Geneva, October 24, 2007 — Despite an overall decrease in the intensity and recurrence of conflicts in the district of Ituri in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), civilian populations there are still subjected to high levels of violence. Based upon four years of medical work in the region, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has issued a report titled, "Ituri: Civilians Still the First Victims," emphasizing the persistence of sexual violence as well as the direct humanitarian consequences of military operations in 2007 during a "pacification process" in the region.

In the wake of a violent civil war, the district of Ituri in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has a population of 4.6 million, has and continues to be the scene of immense human suffering.

The Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team in Masisi in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province is comprised of 100 Congolese and 5 international staff, works in the 120-bed hospital and a health center. They offer surgical care to war-wounded, as well as general health care and nutritional support to displaced people and the local population. Anne Khoudiacoff, 29, is a Belgian nurse who arrived in DRC in early October. Here she describes her work.