REPUBLIC OF CONGO: People displaced as government bombs Ninjas

Government forces shelled northern outskirts of Brazzaville on Wednesday morning after Ninja militia allied to former prime minister Bernard Kolelas tried to advance towards the international airport, news agencies said. Humanitarian sources told IRIN the fighting resulted in fresh population displacements within the city. One source estimated that at least 10,000 people had been displaced from the Mukundu residential area near the airport since Wednesday's attack. They have moved further north, but aid agencies have not been able to access the area to assess the impact of the latest violence. Recent insecurity has also displaced residents from the Talangai area of Brazzaville. Wednesday's incident follows a similar attack involving Ninjas north of Brazzaville on Sunday, news agencies said. Reuters said most of the Ninjas involved in Sunday's attack had fled northwards to the town of Mayama in the Pool region, but others had regrouped and returned to infiltrate the capital. This week's violence has underscored the serious humanitarian crisis prevailing in Brazzaville on account of the precarious security situation, the very poor food security conditions faced by the general population, reported serious human rights violations against civilians and the combined presence of "several waves" of displaced people within the relatively small city, one source noted. Meanwhile, ROC and Angola on Tuesday agreed to enhance security measures along the 150-km border between Congo and the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, Angolan television, monitored by the BBC, reported. A joint communique, issued at the end of 10-11 May talks in Cabinda between the Congolese and Angolan interior ministers, stated that police patrols would be strengthened in the border area "to restore calm and security among the residents of the two countries," the television said.