Aid agencies set up task force in Kisangani

Increased humanitarian aid is arriving in the northeastern city of Kisangani as the ceasefire continues to hold. WFP told IRIN on Wednesday that 12 mt of food and two generators were flown in from Kinshasa on Tuesday, and another 16 mt of food were due to arrive on Wednesday. The flights are paid for by OCHA which is chartering a further flight bringing in 10 mt of food and medicine, donated by the NGO Memisa. Aid organisations have set up a humanitarian task force in Kisangani comprising MSF-Holland, MSF-Belgium, ICRC, Oxfam, Airserv, MONUC and OCHA. In its latest report, the task force said that despite the relatively calm situation, there was a prevailing fear of renewed fighting between Ugandan and Rwandan troops. Observers from the UN mission, MONUC, are still in place during the daytime on the Tshopo bridge between the two opposing forces. According to the task force report, the movement of the population back into Kisangani is continuing. Latest figures indicate a death toll of 300 to 500 people and wounded at between 1,500 and 2,000. Primary requirements are for the provision of drinking water and sanitation, shelter, food and medical assistance as most of the houses in areas such as Tshopo, Magobo and Plateau Biyoma were completely destroyed. In a press release, ICRC said it was carrying out humanitarian flights to Kisangani and reiterated that the most urgent tasks were to treat the wounded and bury the dead so as to avoid an outbreak of cholera. It estimated that nearly 18,000 people had been displaced at the time of the fighting.