30 11 12 Press Conference by Deputy Special Representative, United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo

The funds
redirected and pooled by MONUSCO and its partners had averted an imminent
humanitarian disaster, Mr. Soumaré said.  Basic
water, food, hygiene and emergency health services had been brought to
110,000 people displaced around Goma.  Even
if stability returned, however, people would require help restoring their
lives, cultivating their farms, and repairing schools and medical
centres. 

 

He pointed out
that delivering humanitarian assistance was particularly challenging right
now.  Those displaced were constantly on the move, the terrain was
difficult and a tenuous security situation impeded service delivery.

 

He said around
130,000 displaced people had been identified in 12 spontaneous sites
and schools around Goma, and some people, displaced
before the recent violence, had been forced to flee again in the past ten
days.  Those most difficult to access were at highest risk of water-borne
illness, such as cholera.  MONUSCO was working to provide the necessary
protections so that humanitarian groups could deliver assistance to those
areas.

 

Calling
attention to crises in other parts of the country, including other areas of North Kivu, he stressed that Goma
was not the only place plagued by violence.  Beyond the M23’s direct
impact, South Kivu was also “a theatre of
increased armed group activity”, with major violence carried out on
civilians.  As well, in the wake of the M23 crisis, around
70,000 people had fled to Uganda
and Rwanda
between April and October.

 

Until the underlying
causes of the crisis had been addressed, he said, there was great potential for
further violence, which could displace many more people.

 

A correspondent
asked about reports of the M23 retreating from Goma. 
There had been movement in that regards, Mr. Soumaré
answered.  However, other rebel forces were present in the area.

 

Responding to a
question about access to Goma and the surrounding
area, he said, “Sometimes you identify a site and then you come back a few
hours later and they aren’t there.”  He also added that MONUSCO was
currently in negotiation with the M23 to gain access to the airport so that
humanitarian aid could be flown in.  Further, MONUSCO was also working to
deploy mobile health teams to displaced people.