Government grants UN permission to enter besieged town

Relief could soon come to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Pool region of the Republic of Congo (ROC), following the government's "firm assurances" to the United Nations that it would be allowed into Kindamba, a town in the region, the UN reported.

In an update published on Friday on the humanitarian situation in the country, the office for the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator said aid agencies were poised to bring relief supplies to Kindamba, which is hosting 5,000 IDPs. They have been trapped there since 31 March, four days after fighting began in the Pool region between government forces and the so-called Ninja militiamen, an armed rebel group.

"Due to repeated attacks by the Ninjas and abusive protection by the military, they are not able to move freely. The few who have gotten out report appalling conditions," the UN reported. "Rapes by the military are frequent."

The UN said humanitarian agencies were ready to deliver food, medical supplies, and non-food items to the most needy. Aid agencies, it added, had put together all logistical and material resources required to start the aid process. Access was possible to the IDPs outside the most affected zone, where a few of the displaced had sought safety - Kingoue, Djambala and Kinkala. But, it added, humanitarian access had not been possible to the most affected zones of Pool region.

Prior to the March attack, Kindamba had at least 16,000 residents, but when the Ninja attacked 11,000 people fled to neighbouring villages or hid in the forest, the UN report said.