Humanitarian crisis feared as fighting rages in Dungu

A humanitarian crisis threatens the city of Dungu in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as warring rebel factions struggle for control of the region.

Since fighting erupted several days ago, some 100,000 residents of Dungu are reported to have fled into surrounding forests and neighbouring towns, according to Associated Press, citing one rebel leader.

"Insecurity, as well as harassment and intimidation by armed elements have severely restricted the movement of people, leading to an almost complete blockage of the principal supply routes to the area," one humanitarian source told IRIN. "Residents, whose revenue-generating activities have been wiped out, are now facing food shortages. The humanitarian community is therefore very worried about the secondary consequences of this situation, namely nutritional problems for children and a lack of medication."

The fighting reportedly involves forces of the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba, allied with the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-National (RCD-N) of Roger Lumbala, who are trying to recapture territory they lost to the RCD-Kisangani-Mouvement de liberation of Mbusa Nyamwisi. All three rebel movements are supported by neighbouring Uganda.

One regional analyst told IRIN that Dungu would serve as a strategic stepping stone towards taking control of the mineral-rich area of Watsa, some 150 km to the southeast.

The Italian-based Missionary Service News Agency (Misna) on Thursday reported that the MLC had captured the town of Dungu, but this could not be confirmed by the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, because it had no observers present there. Misna reported that the civilians who had fled into the forest currently had no intention of returning to their homes.

"This reluctance," Misna reported, was explained by the fact that "the people do not want to be... brutalised and humiliated with the accusation of having shown sympathy or collaborated with the previous occupiers, the troops of Nyamwisi, [and that] the situation is still insecure and there is the possibility that the defeated [forces of Nyamwisi] could return to mount a surprise attack on the MLC".

The international medical relief NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) announced on Thursday that it had evacuated its five-member staff from Dungu to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, following repeated break-ins and threats by armed soldiers, despite guarantees received from the warring parties that MSF would be allowed to continue its rehabilitation work on a local hospital.