Equateur province residents slowly returning

Thousands of people who fled from Equateur province are reportedly slowly returning to areas where the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) observers have been deployed, WFP said in its weekly emergency update. It, however, said that the security situation near the border with Central Africa Republic (CAR) “remains unstable”. “WFP and UNHCR are concerned by a continuous influx of CAR refugees into Equateur province and intend to assist an estimated caseload of 15,000 people. As of 9 August, 10,344 refugees have been identified in Zongo and Libenge,” the agency said. WFP in partnership with an NGO, GASHE, is planning to support 400 women farmers through Food For Work (FFW) activities in Mbandaka areas, Equateur province. According to WFP, the security situation in Kalemie, northern Katanga is calm but the town remains accessible only by air. In southeastern DRC, WFP in collaboration with Commissariat General a la reinsertion (CGR) and Action by Churches Together (ACT) distributed 198 tons of food to vulnerable people in Likasi, Kolwezi, Lukonzolwa and Kabango in Lubumbashi province. WFP distributed 33 tons of food to 11,577 refugees in Nkondo camp in Bas-Congo province. Some 224 tons of food were distributed by WFP to 24,551 vulnerable persons in northern Katanga province, during the month of July. Under the first and second phases of the air operation, WFP delivered 440 tons of food and more than six tons of non-food items in the northern Katanga province. Meanwhile, the government established a Bureau National pour la Demobilisation et la Reinsertion (BUNADER) to coordinate demobilsation, disarmament and reinsertion (DDR) activities. WFP, along with other UN agencies and NGOs are committed to supporting this initiative, the agency said. It noted that as many as 4,000 soldiers have so far been targeted for demobilisation on the government side.