AFRICA/CONGO RD - Some of the many Congolese who fled to Uganda to escape violence in North Kivu have returned home; but there are still about 650,000 internally displaced persons in east Congo.

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides)- Some of the estimated 35,000 Congolese who fled to Uganda last week after a recrudescence of conflict and escalation of violence in the North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (see Fides 5, 8 and 11 September 2007), have returned to their homes after crossing the border. This was reported by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNHCR, which estimates that between 3 and 5 thousand Congolese returnees have reached the Bunagana border crossing.
In the province of North Kivu the situation is still tense and unstable, says UNHCR underlining that because of the precarious security conditions access for UNCHR to many areas in the districts of Masisi and Rutshuru is limited. UNHCR is convinced that only a small part of this latest exodus in North Kivu is known and that since December 2006 more than 220,000 people have been displaced in North Kivu and the number continues to grow. Altogether there are more than 650,000 internally displaced persons in the eastern province of Democratic Congo.
Considering new reports about the positioning of troops and delivery of military equipment and personnel in North Kivu, UNHCR has called on all the warring parties in North Kivu to avoid attacks on civilians and displaced persons. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 15/9/2007 righe 22 parole 227)