19 12 12 Oxfam – Millions left at the mercy of militias and armed forces across eastern Congo

By | 19/12/2012 |

More
than one million people are at risk of militia, rebel and army attacks as
fighters begin to position themselves in and around the provincial city of Goma
with little or no protection from the government or UN peacekeepers
international agency Oxfam warned today.

Displacement
camps are becoming increasingly under threat as different rebel groups appear to
be moving towards sites around the city. The agency fears civilians could get
caught up in attacks targeting displacement camps and more than one million will
be trying to find safety in an area overflowing with soldiers and
militias.

If
fighting breaks out clashes could take place in a number of areas surrounding
the city. Oxfam said the UN peacekeeping mission should urgently patrol
high-risk areas, especially at night around camps and villages when civilians
are particularly at risk of attack.

Daily
violence and abuse

“People
are scared and many have gathered their belongings in anticipation of a big
explosion of violence,” said Oxfam’s humanitarian coordinator Tariq Riebl.
“There is now a real risk of war on top of the daily violence and abuse people
already face. It will be catastrophic for Congolese people who are already
targets for extortion, rape and torture from more than 25 rebel groups across
the east.

“Millions
of people are trapped in and around Goma and towns across the east with no way
of escaping what could be a ruthless and bloody
confrontation.”

Villages,
camps attacked

In
and around Masisi, 80 kms north-west of Goma, another catastrophe is well
underway where approximately 250,000 people have fled for their lives in the
past month alone as villages have been burnt and camps
attacked.

A
remote and volatile area with no tarmac roads and limited phone network,
humanitarian agencies are unable to assess the scale of the crisis and provide
sufficient vital life-saving aid.

Murder,
rape, exploitation

According
to local organizations working in the area, at least 17 villages in Masisi
territory have been burnt and looted in the past two weeks and more than 20
camps where tens of thousands of displaced people are sheltering are now under
the control of armed groups known to murder, rape and exploit
civilians.

Multiple
armed groups

At
least four armed groups control routes in an out of Masisi, making it almost
impossible for people to leave the area. Many are believed to have fled into
Masisi town or scattered into the bush away from major roads. More than 8000
families are currently sheltering in churches and schools in the town, with
little access to safe water, healthcare or medicine.

Masisi
is a key strategic area, vital for control over lucrative mineral and trade
routes. A recent Oxfam assessment found market towns in the region have been
repeatedly attacked by numerous armed groups, including the Congolese army,
fighting for control of markets and taxation of traders. Farmers have to pay
money or food to local “Mayi Mayi” militia to access their fields, and armed
groups have taken food from the fields of local farmers to feed their own
fighters and families.

UN
must step up

The
UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, has bases in the territory but communities say
they have not seen any patrols in recent weeks.

“We
can't shout loudly enough,” said Riebl. “This violence has to end. It has caused
decades of suffering and grinding poverty. All those at peace talks in Kampala
must do all they can to bring an end to this brutal madness. Failed agreements
and half-hearted negotiations are simply not enough in the face of a
humanitarian tragedy of this scale. The AU and the UN must step up its
leadership of negotiations and make sure a timetable for a long-lasting solution
is agreed."

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