Attacks in D.R. Congo Continue

A militia group attacked a health center north of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month, where an IRC field team was carrying out vaccinations, said IRC’s Linda Poteat, in a report sent to headquarters this week. She says IRC nurses managed to escape on motorcycle, but others at the center in Kajeje were taken hostage while the attackers stole vaccines. Some in the center were disrobed and beaten. The assault continued elsewhere in the village. Homes were set on fire and there were three confirmed killings.

IRC immediately canceled the final day of what was to be a three-day vaccination campaign. In the first two days, nearly four thousand children received measles vaccinations and more than 2000 were vaccinated against polio. Interhamwe militias have targeted the health center before, but usually they just loot and then retreat to the forest. Ms. Poteat says the situation in the entire region is tenuous. As a result of Interhamwe attacks on the Kalonge area in December and January, the entire town (approximately 50,000 people) has fled. About half are in Katana and Kabare and the rest have spread to other areas.

Ms. Poteat says the IRC has heard many stories in recent weeks of men returning to their farms in Kalonge to collect food for their families and being killed upon arrival. While the death toll in the region appears to be mounting, there are no reliable casualty estimates. Meanwhile, the World Food Program is confirming the displacement of more than 16,000 people as a result of Interhamwe attacks on villages in Katana last week. Ms. Poteat says the mass displacement of people in the region is taking its toll on host communities and that the rise in malnutrition is “alarming.”