Fighting displaces 323,000 people in South Kivu in four days
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Actualité.cd
More than 323,000 people, or about 54,000 households, fled clashes between the FRN and the Congolese army from 6 to 9 November in Kalehe and Kabare territories, South Kivu. At least five civilians were killed in Bunyakiri and displacement continues, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
More than 323,000 people, or about 54,000 households, fled their homes between 6 and 9 November following clashes between FRN rebels and the Congolese army in Kalehe and Kabare territories, South Kivu. At least five civilians were killed in Bunyakiri, according to a humanitarian report published on 11 November by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The violence, which began along the Miti-Civanga-Kalonge-Bunyakiri axis, spread to Bitale, Cifunzi, Kalonge and Bulambika. Fighting was continuing on Wednesday morning around Chaminunu, in the Kalonge groupement, while families displaced several times were sheltering in schools, places of worship, health facilities or forested areas and around Kahuzi Biega National Park, according to OCHA.
Economic and school activities have been severely disrupted in the Bunyakiri and Kalonge health zones. OCHA reports in particular that at least one school was reportedly being used by armed actors, based on local information.
The main roads serving Bunyakiri and Kalonge, notably Miti-Civanga and Hombo-Bulambika, remained inaccessible from 6 to 9 November because of insecurity. Traffic partially resumed on 9 November on the Bunyakiri-Bukavu and Kalonge-Bukavu routes, while the section between Bulambika and the area around Hombo remained affected. Several humanitarian organisations limited the movements of their teams and one redeployed its staff away from the affected areas, according to OCHA.
These displacements come after FRN-FARDC fighting spread to five territories in South Kivu, announced on 6 November. On 9 November, the FRN had taken Bunyakiri and Bulambika, before the Congolese army announced the same day a counter-offensive to retake Bunyakiri.
