Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bukavu (Fides Service)- “ The alarm sounded by the UN is a positive signal. At last the spotlights are turned to Congo’s tragedy ” say Fides’ local sources in Bukavu, main town of the South Kiu region in Democratic Congo), after the warning issued by Jan Egeland, UN emergency aid Co-ordinator, who said that in east Congo 3.3 million people are at risk because of the war which puts them out of reach of humanitarian aid. Among them at least 4,500 children extremely undernourished.
“The food situation here in Bukavu is difficult. Food prices have doubled since fighting resumed at the end of May ” say local Fides’ sources. “The economy is frozen, production has stopped and most people are unemployed”.
Because of the fighting the UN Office for Co-ordination of Emergency Aid had to suspend 80% of its activity in the area. According to the UN High Commission for Refugees UNHCR, over the past few days at least 2,800 refugees reached Burundi from south Kivu. These include 1,652 people who arrived at Gatumba in Burundi, on the northern most tip of Lake Tanganyika. These refugees, mostly women and children from the Congolese town of Uvira, are said to have fled when they heard of the fighting in Bukavu.
“This is dramatic news but we would not want international public opinion to focus only on the humanitarian aspect and overlook the reason for all this” say Fides’ sources. “War and injustice raging in these parts are the origin of the humanitarian tragedy. And steps must be taken to intervene at the root of the situation”.
Bukavu was taken in early June by dissident military, former members of the rebel group RCD-Goma (Congolese Union for Democracy) who should have been integrated into a new unified Congolese army which, on the basis of peace agreement reached in 2003, must integrate all the main military groups fighting each other in Congo. Days later the rebels withdrew from the town now under the control of the United Nations peacekeeping Mission in Congo MONUC.
The conquest of Bukavu triggered a serious crisis which threatened to undermine the peace agreement but brought to light a deep split in RCD-Goma, between the extremist wing and the moderate wing which wants negotiations for peace to continue. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 15/6/2004 righe 36 parole 442)
