Security situation in North Kivu remains precarious

War-weary residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu Province turned up in large numbers to vote in July's elections, hoping that the new leaders they chose would restore security to the region. "There has never been security in North Kivu," Jean Simon Mushana, a former soldier attached to the special presidential division, said. "We live like we are in the Wild West where everyone makes his own law. The state is nonexistent in the province." Underlining the precarious humanitarian and security situation in the province is the fighting last weekend between armed militia and government soldiers in Sake, 25 km west of the provincial capital, Goma. Two soldiers and a civilian died, 18 others were wounded and hundreds displaced. At least 14 soldiers have been admitted to the military hospital in Goma, according to a provisional assessment by the 8th Military Brigade in the province.

Gen Laurent Nkunda, renegade Congolese army commander

The fighting is a continuation of a rebellion led by a renegade army general, Laurent Nkunda, whose troops have renewed military operations in eastern DRC. Nkunda was also a senior officer in the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma (RCD-Goma), one of the main rebel groups that fought in the country from 1998 to 2003. Moreover, Congolese militiamen, known as Mai-Mai; the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR); the Congolese army; and other unarmed forces continue to wreak havoc in Rutshuru, Walikalé, Nyiragongo, Béni, Kanyabayonga and other riverine areas at Virunga National Park, north of Goma. However, the United Nations Mission in the DRC, MONUC, says at least 83 percent of attacks on civilians in North Kivu are perpetuated by the regular army, known by its French acronym FARDC. A senior humanitarian affairs officer at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Goma, Jean-Charles Dupin, agrees. "FARDC is a great menace," he said, "it is an army charged with the duty of protecting civilians but being poorly paid by the government, lives by rape and other forms of brutality and murder. Most of the sexual violence is perpetrated by military groups." Dupin said militias were still recruiting child soldiers in violation of the law and international child protection conventions, to which the DRC is a signatory. According to the OCHA office in Goma, hundreds of people displaced by Saturday's fighting went to Kirotshe, en route to Bukavu, the provincial capital of neighbouring South Kivu Province. "We hope these people will return to their villages soon," Dupin said. "The situation will be restored because the 8th Brigade has sent for reinforcements. MONUC has done the same." The Committee for the Movement of Populations, a group of NGOs and humanitarian agencies in North Kivu, said displaced people sometimes returned to their homes on their own, they did not live in camps. "The displaced live with other families," Andrew Zadel, an OCHA information officer in North Kivu, said. "But this situation creates enormous humanitarian problems because, during aid distribution, these families [though stable] also want to be assisted." Those newly displaced in Sake are in addition to an estimated 180,000 people who have left their homes in the province since December 2005. By 31 July, the NGO Solidarité had counted at least 1,000 people representing 220 households, who had moved from Hombo, Isangi and Itebero villages towards the centre of Walikale, fleeing militia fighting. Humanitarian agencies said aid to displaced populations, notably in the past six months, had been greater than in 2005. "This assistance is an indicator that security has not been restored in North Kivu," Dupin said. Food insecurity

Jean-Charles Dupin, OCHA's senior humanitarian affairs officer in Goma

The insecurity created by the armed groups has also led to food insecurity in certain zones as the population is in perpetual movement over the three farming seasons. "Children are fed with cassava from a tender age without other complementary food or vitamins, which causes serious growth problems," a nurse at Goma General Hospital, who wished to remain anonymous, said. Water and sanitation are also a concern for humanitarian workers in the province. OCHA said the national water distribution utility, REGIDESCO, had failed to provide sufficient services for Goma residents, leaving most of them to drink untreated water from Lake Kivu. The UN World Health Organization estimates that at least four people die of malaria each day in Masisi, west of Goma, notably in the Mweso and Kitchanga health zones. Since July, 123 deaths have been reported in the area. However, a health-inspection team in the province has been distributing medical supplies in the zones since 31 July. In July, the provincial body for the national blood transfusion programme said its blood bank was empty. Consequently, there have been four deaths and the postponement of several surgical operations. The UN has intervened: MONUC is taking charge of emergency operations, while the UN Development Programme is urging the public to continue donating blood. The UN Children's Fund is providing HIV-testing kits. Already, MONUC had deployed at least 3,000 ground and air troops to the province to protect civilians and to ensure the smooth running of the first round of presidential and legislative general elections, said Jacqueline Chenard, MONUC spokeswoman in the province. MONUC has at least 17,000 peacekeepers in the country and given that provincial and other local elections have still to be held, a large UN presence may still be needed if the humanitarian condition of civilians is to be improved and protected. lmm/aw/js/mw/oss