As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visits eastern Congo today, international aid agency Oxfam warned that civilians are at enormous risk of violence in the coming weeks, with military operations against FDLR rebels set to expand.
Over 100 civilians have already been killed in FDLR reprisal attacks since the Congolese government - together with Rwanda and militia groups - launched an offensive against them in North Kivu last month. The offensive is now set to spread to South Kivu, and further retaliatory attacks and civilian suffering are likely. The offensive has forced Oxfam and other agencies to suspend work on vital programmes in Lubero due to insecurity, affecting several thousand people.
Marcel Stoessel, head of Oxfam in DRC, said:
"On the back of the Secretary General's visit, the wider international community needs to inject much-needed urgency into resolving the long running human tragedy in Congo. Three months after the Security Council authorized 3,000 extra front line peacekeepers to help protect civilians, none have yet arrived. There is a worrying perception that as a result of the offensive, the threat to civilians has been lifted - but this is not the case. The next few months are likely to be even more dangerous for civilians as the offensive expands."
There are already reports that the FDLR are moving back into areas previously occupied by Rwandan forces. Thousands of people have fled the fighting so far, and it is reported that others have been blocked from seeking refuge by the FDLR, effectively being used as human shields. Rape and looting by all sides in the conflict has also been widely documented.
Oxfam urged the Secretary General to impress upon President Kabila that his government has a responsibility to ensure civilians do not suffer as a result of its military actions.
Stoessel continued:
"The Congolese government must do much more to ensure civilians are not harmed. The UN peacekeepers, MONUC, have so far been sidelined and have not been given access to information about the offensive so that they can swiftly deploy peacekeepers to protect people caught up in the violence."
For interviews with Oxfam in DRC, contact Ellie Kemp, +243 813 489309
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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