Insecurity still a problem as UN prepares response

Following hostilities that have recently shaken Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo (ROC), and the surrounding Pool region, and in response to the request of the ROC government, the United Nations agencies in that country have put in place all logistical, material, and human resources to respond to the needs of populations displaced and/or affected by fighting and looting, the UN office of the Humanitarian Coordinator reported on Wednesday. However, security concerns continued to prevent access to populations in the interior of Pool region, the UN coordinator, William Paton, told IRIN on Wednesday. He cited the case of the town of Kindamba (170 km northwest of Brazzaville), where more than 5,000 people who cannot access their fields are facing serious food shortages only two weeks before harvest. He said he hoped assessment missions of affected populations in the interior would begin on Thursday. At a press conference held on Tuesday, Paton insisted that the parties to the conflict should guarantee access to civilian populations for the purpose of delivering humanitarian assistance. "Moreover, all combatants should respect the human rights of civilians, in particular the right not to be displaced forcibly, the right to cultivate their land, the right not to have their homes looted, not to be killed or raped," Paton stated. Last week, humanitarian groups expressed concern that the ROC government had adopted an aggressive approach to the current situation, favouring vigorous pursuit of military solutions rather than negotiations. The arrival of a special unit of Angolan soldiers in the Pool region and Brazzaville had only served to increase concern among some of these organisations. Also on Tuesday, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative, Raymond Janssens, announced the arrival of a UNICEF plane from Copenhagen carrying 40 mt of food, non-food and medical items to assist affected populations. World Food Programme representative Sory Ouane confirmed that over 3,000 mt of food were available immediately. The World Health Organisation representative, Dr Lamine-Cisse Sarr, reported that medical equipment was available in sufficient quantity to respond to the needs of 30,000 people for one month. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the UN Population Fund, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the UN Development Programme have also confirmed the availability of logistical and financial resources for immediate assistance. Paton told IRIN that international nongovernmental organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Rescue Committee and Medecins Sans Frontieres were among the UN's primary implementing partners. It is estimated that over the last two weeks about 80,000 persons have been forced to leave their homes in ROC, among them more than 15,000 persons in the interior and at least 65,000 in Brazzaville, where people fled the city's southern neighbourhoods on 9 April. Although some had returned to their homes in the capital, Paton said the UN continued to be preoccupied by their situation as many of them had been injured or come home to destroyed and/or looted houses. At a press conference on Monday, Defence Minister Justin Lekoundzou-Ossetoumba urged the ROC people to resume their daily routines, because there was no war. "Government authorities have control of the entire country. People must be courageous. There were a few shots fired, but people should not think that we are going back to war," he stated, referring to the widespread panic that gripped Brazzaville on 9 April. Hostilities first erupted in the ROC at the end of March, when several government military positions in Pool region were reportedly attacked by so-called "Ninja" militias, according to official sources. Ninja representatives have countered that the clashes were provoked when they discovered government plans to arrest their leader, the Rev Frederic Bitsangou (alias Ntoumi). Following repeated civil wars throughout the 1990s that were ended by ceasefire agreements in 1999, the process of demobilising an estimated total of 25,000 militia fighters began in ROC. It includes members of the Cobras (loyal to current President Denis Sassou-Nguesso), the Cocoyes (loyal to former President Pascal Lissouba), and the Ninjas (loyal to former Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas). Through a UNDP/Iinternational Organisation for Migration programme for the "Reintegration of Ex-Combatants and Collection of Light Weapons", which has been operating since November 2000, more than 7,500 ex-combatants have been assisted in the transition to civilian life through funds and training to start small businesses. Some 1,800 have been reintegrated by the government, primarily into the army. The initiative has also collected and destroyed 12,000 small arms.