Germany increases aid in east

Germany has increased its humanitarian aid to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by €484,000 (US $556,261), the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin announced on Wednesday. It said the contribution had been earmarked for three projects: €255,000 ($292,714) for German Agro Action to provide food for one month for 125,000 people living in and around the northeastern town of Butembo; €203,000 ($233,024) for Caritas Germany to supply blankets, clothing and household goods to some 20,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) living in and around Butembo; and €26,300 ($30,189) for the Johanniter Emergency Service to provide basic medical care for some 20,000 people for three months at a Butembo hospital. The Federal Foreign Office recalled that heavy fighting in Bunia, the main town of Ituri District had forced thousands to flee south to North Kivu Province, seeking refuge notably in and around Butembo, about 200 km south of Bunia. "As a result of the continuing expulsions and plundering as well as the influx of refugees from Bunia, the desperate plight of people in Butembo has deteriorated still further," it said. "Many refugees have been forced to flee several times and lost all their goods and possessions. Medical care, food and emergency supplies of all kinds are urgently needed," it added. The Federal Foreign Office said this latest assistance brought Germany's humanitarian aid to the DRC to €1.86 million ($2.14 million) for 2003. It said that funding had already gone to projects run by German aid agencies for IDPs in Ituri and to the International Committee of the Red Cross.