The following testimonies were collected by protection teams involved in research for Oxfam's recent survey of civilians in eastern Congo. The names of specific communities and individuals have been witheld to ensure confidentiality and the safety of the people involved. The opinions expressed below are those of the three individuals consulted and should in no way be taken to represent Oxfam's views.

Man, farmer, a town in Lubero, North Kivu

"We are the wretched of the earth, they are killing us in the name of peace. Those who should be keeping us safe think that we are the rebel group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and rob us of the little we have left. Who will save us?

"For the last six months, people in this part of Lubero territory have lived in fear and worry. The fighting between the rebels from the National Congress of the Defence of the People (CNDP) and the government army (FARDC) at the end of 2008 caused killing and pillaging as well as massive displacement. This situation has only gotten worse. This joint force took its target to be the civilian population. It considers us to be FDLR and has burned entire villages in some areas.

"The situation has not changed, our town is packed with even more displaced people, some of whom live in host families and others who live without any support. They fear for their lives if they were to return. The FDLR are in hiding and have re-occupied their original positions. They are becoming more and more aggressive and have killed several civilians and robbed passenger vehicles on one of the main roads here.

"People are no longer able to go to their fields to farm because they are beseiged by mixed FARDC military (FARDC/CNDP/Mai Mai). Displaced children are not going to school. The infrastructure just doesn't allow it - the school year is totally lost for them.

"If you can do something, please make this mixed FARDC brigade leave our town. These military make life so difficult. They have burned private vehicles and have raped women, even minors. The irregular patrols of the United Nations mission to Congo (MONUC) unfortunately have no impact on the situation.

"The situation before the joint operation was different. This is worse."

Woman, aid worker, resident in a town in Lubero

"They have swatted the hornets' nest, and now that the hornets are stinging us, they are no longer there to help us.

"What good did it do to provoke the FDLR if one was not able to finish them off once and for all? It has only made them more aggressive. Now, these criminals have started to kill and rape women, to mistreat the population, to steal their cows like they just did this week, stealing 37 cows in one town, to ambush private vehicles and pillage them systematically.

"These military based in our town continue to steal from the population. The MONUC troops who are based around here don't make themselves visible with the local and displaced population. We are not secure.

Man, farmer and member of a farmer's association, a town in Lubero

"We are in the middle of preparing a letter asking MONUC to leave this town. We are sick of hosting these people who take leisurely walks around our neighborhood while, before their eyes, the FARDC steals goats from people, pillages and harvests from the fields of civilians. How can they hold up their mandate of civilian protection when they let the FARDC position themselves on the paths that lead directly to the villagers' fields?

"The military of the FARDC and those of MONUC know very well that the FDLR have retaken their former positions in several areas. But they proclaim in a loud voice that peace has returned to Lubero and that the joint Congolsee-Rwandan operation was a success.

"And the hundreds of thousands of displaced people who are along the length of the main road here, who are the direct consequence of these operations, do MONUC and the FARDC simply want to erase them from their memory?

"The burning of houses, the fire at a radio station, and the burning of six civilian trucks in one place, as well as multiple killings of civilians - are these a sign of the pacification boasted of by the FARDC? These poor host communities and displaced people in South Lubero are abandoned, without assistance. They are placed between several fires, robbed and raped at the whim of the FARDC and the FDLR.

"People are disillusioned. They have the right to assistance and security. Make the mixed brigade here go away. We don't trust them anymore. They are making us less secure."

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