Thousands displaced in Katanga return home

Thousands of civilians displaced by frequent Mai-Mai militia attacks in Katanga Province, in the south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are returning to their villages, a United Nations (UN) official has said.

The returns have been reported in central Katanga, which has for a long time been the scene of frequent militia attacks, Daniel Augstburger, head of office for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said on Wednesday in Kinshasa.

The returns are occurring spontaneously without the support of humanitarian operators, he added.

At least 2,200 families - nearly 10,000 people - have returned to the village of Sampwe, an agriculturally productive area often raided by the militia for food supplies. The raids had caused the villagers to flee.

"The majority of people returned to Sampwe because of their farms but they have not yet re-established themselves," Augstburger said. The returnees are living with other families as they lost all their property to militiamen who had attacked their villages, he said.

Between 10,000 and 14,000 people are thought to have been displaced from the town of Mitwaba in northern Katanga. OCHA estimates that 170,000 people have been displaced in central Katanga, also called "the triangle of death". Here the Mai-Mai militiamen have continued to roam, stealing and raping.

The army has been conducting counter-attacks against the Mai-Mai since November 2005.

According to the director of the human rights division at the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, Fernando Castanon, the displaced returned after the surrender of a Mai-Mai leader, known as Gedeon, and at least 400 of the group's combatants.

The country is preparing for general elections on Sunday, the first democratic vote since 1960.

[Countdown in Congo]

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