Rehabilitation ongoing after fighting

The Red Cross Society of the DRC and the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) have cleared rubble and cleaned the premises of two hospitals and several other buildings in Kisangani, which were damaged by shelling during the recent clashes. Repair work is ongoing on the operating theatre and radiology room of the city’s general hospital, an ICRC press release stated on Thursday. The agency had landed 1,200 kg of medical supplies on Sunday last, and helped the city’s 11 hospitals care for 159 war-wounded, mostly civilians, the statement said.

In addition, the ICRC has launched a campaign in the local press to warn the population of the dangers of unexploded shells and other ordnance. Meanwhile, local Red Cross volunteers had marked various sites and made them secure, “so that civilians - children, in particular - would not fall victim to these deadly weapons,” the statement added. The fighting had stranded up to 8,000 civilians across the Tshopo River north of the city and negotiations were underway to secure free humanitarian access and permission for their return, humanitarian sources told IRIN.