Thousands displaced as tribal clashes resume in Ituri

Ethnic clashes between the Lendu and Hema people in Ituri district of eastern DRC have broken out again in the past fortnight, displacing tens of thousands of civilians and greatly increasing humanitarian needs in an already difficult situation, the regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Philip Spoerri told IRIN on Tuesday.
Tribal clashes between the Hema and Lendu - traditionally arising from tensions over land use but increasingly complicated by military-political issues in the broader DRC conflict, according to observers - broke out again in mid-December after mediation efforts had brought about a temporary lull in November, Spoerri said. "It has not calmed down. It can bubble up at any time," he added.

The current clashes were at their most intense around Djugu, and had sent 20,000 to 30,000 displaced people towards nearby towns, particularly Bunia, for shelter, he said. In light of the renewed clashes, the ICRC hoped to reach 85,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in 10-15 sites in and around Bunia and Djugu by the end of January, Spoerri told IRIN. Even with those numbers, "some of the most needy are probably not even
reachable" in the rural areas, he said. The current crisis last week spurred the ICRC - one of the few relief agencies operating in the area - to start airlifting relief supplies from Entebbe, Uganda, in order to increase the volume and speed of its deliveries to vulnerable populations.