Thousands flee eastern DR Congo due to conflict

YAOUNDE, Cameroon

Unrest in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo has forced thousands of people to flee their homes in the past two years, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Thursday.

The humanitarian group said that because of the conflict, many people have found refuge on the other side of the border between North and South Kivu provinces, where they share limited resources and land with equally vulnerable communities.

“We heard that there was peace in Katasomwa, so we decided to come here,” MSF quoted Justin, a displaced person in this remote area of Kalehe Territory in South Kivu, as saying.

“Many people were killed along the way. Since we got here, in July, we have had trouble finding food. We are constantly under threat from heavy rain and the shelters we live in can burn down at any time. Our lives are miserable,” he said.

The arrival of displaced populations has been a challenge for the fledgling health system. The Katasomwa health post is run by motivated staff, but it lacks adequate means.

“Displaced women avoided coming to the health post because they have no money to pay for care,” said head nurse Esther Isabayo Benimana. “Many gave birth in the camp, and some died that way.”

MSF said it is responding to the dire health situation in the area by providing emergency medical assistance.

“We first concentrated on the groups with the highest death rates ─ mostly children under 15 and pregnant women,” said MSF emergency medical officer David Namegabe, adding maternal mortality in the area is very high.

Several rebel groups including the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces are very active in eastern DRC.

The Pygmy ethnic group is also being targeted and has been subjected to discrimination.

MSF said Pygmy communities were forced out of the Kahuzi-Biega Forest, where they had been living for generations until the park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.​​​​​​​

The modus operandi of these rebels is atypical: peasants are killed with knives, generally in the evening in the bush, returning from the fields or in the village at nightfall.

The illicit exploitation of natural resources continues to be a root cause and driver of conflict in the east of the country, according to the UN.

Most of the militia groups have set aside their political demands and are involved in mineral trafficking.