UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency ReliefCoordinator JohnHolmes continues a four-day visit to northeastern regions of the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. Since Saturday, he hassurveyed the impact of clashes between government forces and various rebelgroups like the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), theNational Congress in Defense of the People (CNDP), and the Uganda-based Lord'sResistance Army (LRA). More than 100human rights groups and aid organizations are urging the UN humanitarian chiefto insist that United Nations (MONUC) peacekeepers in the DRC be allowed tojoin Congolese and Rwandan forces on their mission to ensure that civilians receiveadequate protection. Juliette Prodhanheads DRC operations for the British-based group OXFAM. She says that a joint offensive by Congolese and Rwandan government troopsagainst FDLR Hutu forces has raised concerns about reprisal killings and hashampered NGOs' ability to provide help.
"Anytime there's any type of operation by the military or the militia in DRC,there's always some kind of humanitarian fallout. And that's to do with the lack of disciplinewithin the armed forces, a lot to do with practices that have becomenormalized, rapes, violence, looting. And so these are all things that the humanitarian community fears verymuch could result from a joint operation," she noted.
InNorth Kivu province, Mr. Holmes met with internally displaced families at theKibati IDP camp near Goma, who had been endangered by fighting between CNDPrebels and the national army. In lightof the high casualty figures resulting from that fighting, the Congo AdvocacyCoalition of aid groups sent a public letter to Holmes last week, warning thatthe joint Congolese-Rwandan government offensive currently underway has causedthousands of people to flee their homes, compounding more than a million other victimsinternally dislocated from earlier combat. Prodhan points out that so far, despite coalition concerns aboutreprisal killings and the use of civilians as human shields, the latestoffensive has distressed proportionally fewer victims.
"Now to date, thelevels of violence and displacement are not all that severe as we might havefeared. These operations are covering anarea where the population is 850-thousand people. And the figures we have of those who havebeen affected so far, who have been displaced by the violence, range from aboutfive thousand people to 15-thousand. Soif you compare that from before December, 2008, the difference is marked andthe humanitarian community obviously can't say that things are all right. But things are certainly better than we expected,"she explained.
Sunday,the UN humanitarian chief had planned to visit a hospital west of Goma to meetcivilians displaced by the Congolese-Rwandan offensive. But the helicopter trip to Masisi had to bescrubbed because of bad weather. Instead,Holmes surveyed a hospital in the provincial capital Goma, as well as a campfor Rwandans seeking voluntary repatriation. Then, he flew north to Bunia to assess conditions following thepost-Christmas slaughter of close to one thousand DRC civilians by Ugandan LRArebels. OXFAM's Prodhan says that thereare lessons to be learned by Kinshasa and Kigali from December's offensiveagainst the LRA, and the involvement by UN peacekeepers can play a central rolein limiting the collateral damage.
"What you've seen in response to the petitionmade towards John Holmes, yesterday (Saturday), the Congolese and Rwandangovernments both came out and said yes, they are particularly concerned aboutprotecting civilians. But of course,with the joint Congolese-Ugandan operation, you've seen massive civilians fallout. And that's something we do not wantto see happening again in that area or in any other area of the country. The Congolese and the Rwandans have spokenout and said that yes, they are responsible for the protection of civilians. Sowe hope they will show their good side, their true colors, in making sure thatit does happen, does become a part of their mission in the coming days and thatthey allow the UN peacekeepers who are accompanying that for the purposes ofprotecting civilians to do their job," she urged.