UN humanitarian chief condemns attacks on civilians by armed groups in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo

(Kinshasa/New York, 30 April 2009): United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) John Holmes has warned that hundreds of thousands of people in South Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are at risk of further displacement and abuse because of renewed conflict.

"People who have repeatedly been victims of violence in this region are yet again experiencing terror and upheaval," Mr. Holmes said. "In the event of intensified fighting between Government forces and armed groups in the weeks ahead, all armed actors in South Kivu must have as a top priority protection of civilians and their livelihoods. They must also guarantee and facilitate unconditional access for humanitarians to the affected populations," he stressed.

Since the beginning of the year, an estimated 100,000 people in South Kivu have been displaced, fleeing attacks by militia on their communities or moving in order to protect their families from the threat of violence. Tensions in the province are high ahead of new planned operations by the Congolese army against the Forces émocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR).

In areas where the FDLR is based, attacks and threats against civilians have dramatically increased in the last weeks. In the localities of Kachiri and Rumondo, more than a dozen villages were pillaged and hundreds of houses set on fire. On the Kigulube-Bulungu axis, in eastern Shabunda territory, FDLR groups are using violence and intimidation to force the population to provide food for them. Without access to their fields, and because of the theft of their harvests, the population is at risk of a severe food crisis, notably on the Bunyakiri-Hombo axis in Kalehe.

Alarmingly, cases of rape have been on the increase again in recent weeks in areas under the control both of the FDLR and of the Congolese army, the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC). Women and girls are at the mercy of groups with horrendous records of sexual violence. In Shabunda, four cases of rape and ten instances of extortion by government soldiers were reported over a period of only four days. Around Hombo, in Kalehe territory, FARDC troops expelled the population of several small villages to occupy their homes.

"We condemn these appalling attacks on civilians in the strongest terms. Those committing violations of humanitarian law will have to answer for their crimes," Mr. Holmes said. "I urge the Government of DRC to stop and punish abuses committed by its soldiers, to provide adequate logistics, and ensure the protection of civilians during these operations."

For further information, please call:

OCHA-New York: Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org, John Nyaga, +1 917- 367-9262, mobile +1 917-318-8917, nyagaj@un.org

OCHA-Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int For more information about CERF, please see http://cerf.un.org