Large displacement in "forgotten war"

Nearly 175,000 displaced people and refugees have moved to Brazzaville since May, the Office of the Regional Humanitarian Advisor for the Great Lakes in Nairobi said in its latest "Affected Populations" report. The figure includes Brazzaville residents who had been displaced to the Pool region at the outset of fighting last year, inhabitants of Pool who are now seeking refugee in the capital, and returnees from the DRC, the report said. It said there were "credible reports" that civilians arriving in Brazzaville, whether from the DRC or Pool, were being harassed by government forces allegedly searching for rebel militia members. "Arbitrary detentions are disappearances are not uncommon," the report stated. There were now an estimated 331,625 people displaced by what the report called a "forgotten war", adding that the health and nutritional status of people coming from Pool was "notably poor."