Concern over access to IDPs

Meanwhile, the issue of access to all vulnerable populations, specifically the internally displaced people (IDPs) “remains of concern”, OCHA said. “Although access is sporadically possible to up 70 percent of the country, both advance planning and armed escorts are required for the majority of travel for UN staff,” it added. OCHA noted that the problem of access was dramatically highlighted by the attack on a WFP food convoy on 2 April at Muriza, in which four humanitarian staff were injured. A month later, on 11 May six humanitarian aid workers were kidnapped and held hostage for five days by the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) in Bukeye, Makamba province. The aid workers, staff of the NGO Memisa/Coped, were operating a mobile clinic at the time of their abduction.