Shabunda reported calm following Mayi-Mayi takeover

Calm has reportedly returned to Shabunda Centre in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following large civilian displacements that occurred in the wake of the recent withdrawal of Rwandan-backed rebels and the invasion of Congolese Mayi-Mayi fighters, who took control of the area.

Sister Ivonne Ospina Perez of the Sisters of the Divine Mother told IRIN on Friday that while it was true that about 90 percent of the population initially fled when the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) left on 24-25 September, most of the residents were now returning.

She said Shabunda Centre was now under the control of Mayi-Mayi forces led by Gen David Padiri Bulenda, and that the fighters were behaving well towards the residents and not harassing them. Church representatives and NGOs are reportedly involved in negotiating with armed groups in an effort to prevent any eruption of hostilities.

Several humanitarian sources on the ground have also told IRIN that earlier reports of 40,000 people displaced were incorrect. At most, the sources agreed, some 20,000 had been displaced. They noted that before the RCD pull-out, there were about 20,000 people in Shabunda Centre, of whom some 8,000 were people displaced from outlying areas.

Until 24 September, Shabunda Centre had been in control of the RCD military, which was supported when necessary by the Rwandan army. The surrounding area, which is heavily forested, has been a stronghold of the Mayi-Mayi and allied forces for a couple of years.

In May 2002, local sources in the region believed there were about 2,000 Mayi-Mayi, 3,000 Interahamwe Rwandan Hutu militias, and 1,000 soldiers from the late DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila's Forces Armees Congolaises serving in the Kivus who had refused to join the RCD rebellion when it began in August 1998, and fled to the bush to escape capture or execution. These forces had from time to time attacked the RCD, but had never managed to capture Shabunda Centre until now.

A number of international humanitarian aid agencies that were working in Shabunda Centre have withdrawn in recent months, including Action Against Hunger-USA (Action Contre la Faim - ACF), which announced on 27 September that it had withdrawn its team as "a preventive measure".

"We have reports of looting and harassment of the local population," Banu Altunbas, ACF's head of mission in eastern DRC, said in the 27 September statement. "The majority of the population has fled to unknown destinations and our therapeutic feeding centre has been emptied as well."

Until 24 September, ACF had been treating 250 severely malnourished children under the age of five years in its therapeutic feeding centre and 600 children in its supplementary feeding centre. "We are extremely concerned about the conditions in which they might be without any assistance," Altunbas added.

Shabunda is one of between eight and 11 "territoires" that make up South Kivu Province - depending on whether one includes Bukavu city, and two new "territoires" created by the RCD. Each "territoire" has the same name as its principal town. "Shabunda Centre" is, therefore, used to distinguish the principal town of Shabunda territory from the territory itself.

The town of Shabunda Centre has been an informal centre of refuge for thousands of people displaced by fighting throughout the region in recent years.