U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

DRC: ICRC assists IDPs of Haut Plateaux in South Kivu

NAIROBI, 13 August (IRIN) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has completed a preliminary distribution of plastic sheeting and blankets to 600 displaced families in the town of Minembwe, most of whom had fled nearby villages almost completely destroyed during recent clashes in the Haut Plateaux region of South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The region has been cut off from humanitarian assistance in recent months because of fighting between the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) and a popular uprising of ethnic Tutsis led by a dissident commander of the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) rebel movement, Patrick Masunzu.

On a previous visit, the ICRC had distributed medical materials to Minembwe hospital, which is caring for residents and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Although many of the estimated 5,000 IDPs in Minembwe are housed by residents, hundreds are forced to live outdoors, at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres. According to the ICRC's deputy head of mission in eastern DRC, Reto Stocker, "families have generally been able to find enough food, but particularly the elderly and children are suffering because of the cold".

The distribution was part of the ICRC's protection and assistance activities in eastern DRC, where the organisation maintains offices in Goma, Bukavu, Uvira, Kalemie and Kisangani. ICRC delegates regularly visit persons detained in connection with the conflict. The ICRC also supports hospitals and health centres treating those wounded in the conflict, provides chemicals and spare parts to ensure that water-treatment plants continue to function, and distributes material assistance to populations affected by conflict to help them survive and resume their lives.

Although a United Nations humanitarian assessment team had travelled to Minembwe on 2 August, it was denied access by officers of the RPA due to insecurity. The mission had hoped to open access to South Kivu's Haut Plateaux region to deliver aid to thousands of people displaced by fighting..

[ENDS]

[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: [email protected] or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002