100,000 displaced remain "unaccounted for"

While most residents displaced by conflict last year have returned to their homes in the Bacongo and Makelekele areas of southern Brazzaville since mid-May, about 100,000 internally-displaced persons (IDPs) remain unaccounted for, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a regional situation report. "Humanitarian agencies operating in Brazzaville have expressed great concern over the fate of these 100,000 people who have been without any assistance since December 1998," it said. The Red Cross Movement is currently assisting up to 60,000 displaced persons in Brazzaville, and plans are underway to help 30,000 IDPs and their host families in the southern port city of Pointe-Noire, the report said.