Pool region still inaccessible, humanitarian situation unknown

Fighting between government forces - supported by Angolan troops - and Ninja militias allied to the Rev Frederic Bitsangou (alias Ntoumi) in the Pool region of the Republic of Congo (ROC) is now well into its second month. The total number of persons displaced by the conflict there remains unknown, but is "at least 22,000 and probably more", according to humanitarian sources in the country.

The government has reported that at least 5,000 persons have found refuge in the town of Kindamba, a small and isolated town of 5,000 inhabitants in the Pool region, about 170 km northwest of the capital, Brazzaville, but they have not yet received any assistance. A previous attempt by the United Nations to conduct an evaluation mission was cancelled at the last minute due to insecurity.

Not more than 2,000 people have managed to reach refuge outside the affected area, in neighbouring Plateaux, Bouenza and Lekoumou regions. The international community has been able to visit them and provide assistance, and it is expected that a mission to Kindamba may be organised in the coming days.

The UN and other international organisations were recently allowed to visit Kinkala, the capital of Pool region some 79 km west of Brazzaville, the office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator reported on Friday. The mission, conducted on 8 and 9 May, found that the four displacement camps that had been set up in Kinkala since 5 April had been closed by the authorities on 14 April. The international community has been unable to reach Kinkala since 9 April, and therefore little humanitarian assistance is available.

About two-thirds of Kinkala's population has returned to their homes, with the major problem being the absence of medical personnel to run health and sanitary facilities. The mission provided voluntary staff with medical equipment and other supplies. Most civil servants and teachers have not returned to Kinkala. Numerous sources have reported that over 20 young men were taken from the camps and have not been seen since.

The resumption of cargo train services between the coastal city of Pointe Noire and Brazzaville has enabled economic activity in the capital to return to "almost normal", according to the office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, although passenger trains have not yet been authorised.

The route - Congo's main railway line - had been shut down by the government for security concerns since 2 April, when at least two people were killed and 12 wounded in an attack on a passenger train travelling from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville, said to have taken place in two separate locations near Kinkembo, some 150 km west of the capital. Fuel, which had been in particularly short supply, is now transported from the coast to the capital in trains carrying military escorts.

From his base in Vindza, Pool region, Ntoumi has sent an audio-cassette to President Denis Sassou-Nguesso expressing his desire for a negotiated solution. According to Ntoumi, the crisis started when 500 additional government troops were sent to the Vindza area. In response, he sent some of his followers to inquire about the reasons for this military build-up. He claims that the military then shot at his men.

It was following that incident, he said, that he concluded that the government was seeking a military solution against him. In his statement, he asserted that a military solution was impossible and trying to effect it would cause unnecessary hardship for the population.

The tens of thousands who had been displaced from the southern neighbourhoods of Brazzaville in early April have, for the most part, returned to their homes. Thousands of displaced people from the Pool region are still in Brazzaville, although some are returning. However, still more keep arriving in Brazzaville from various localities in Pool, usually claiming that they are fleeing out of fear.

A door-to-door survey is now being conducted by the UN to identify vulnerable displaced people. Most have already received non-food items, and the survey will determine whether food assistance is required, the office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator reported.

Meanwhile, the government is proceeding with preparations for legislative elections to be held on 26 May, even if Pool has not stabilised. In such an event, elections will be held in the region later. According to the government, 994 candidates of 1,239 who applied from all political parties have been authorised to compete for the 137 available seats in the National Assembly.

Campaigning was officially launched on 10 May, with Congolese Interior Minister Pierre Oba appealing for the sustained prevalence of the "calm and good conduct" which characterised the presidential elections of 10 March, when Sassou-Nguesso won a landslide victory in the ROC's first presidential elections since 1992.

Former Prime Minister Andre Milongo, considered to be Sassou-Nguesso's main challenger, withdrew from the race on 8 March, claiming irregularities. Former President Pascal Lissouba, who defeated Sassou-Nguesso in 1992, and former Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas were barred from entering the race by the revised constitution, which requires candidates to have resided continuously in the country for at least two years before the election.

Both are living abroad in exile, having been tried and convicted in absentia for crimes allegedly committed during civil war that plagued the nation throughout the 1990s.

Following the 1999 ceasefire agreements, the process of demobilising an estimated total of 25,000 militia fighters has been under way in the ROC. The process comprises members of the Cobras (loyal to Sassou-Nguesso), the Cocoyes (loyal to Lissouba), and the Ninjas (loyal to Kolelas).