Congo Brazzaville
Thousands trapped by fighting in Congo Brazzaville

afrol News, 17 January - Up to 60,000 civilians are trapped by hostilities in the forests of Congo Brazzaville and inaccessible to humanitarian agencies. Additionally, the renewed fighting in the fertile country has produced some 30,000 internally displaced people that are depending on food aid. 

According to the newest 'Emergency Report' by the World Food Programme (WFP), the increasing number of people displaced by the current fighting in Congo Brazzaville is causing concern. In December, more than 1,800 newly displaced people had found an escape route from the conflict area, and arrived in camps to seek safety and assistance, the UN agency says. 

- The influx of people continues on a daily basis, WFP reports from Brazzaville. The number of displaced people the agency is assisting had increased by 100 percent since October 2002, when fighting resumed near Congolese capital. WFP was currently providing relief food to 30,000 internally displaced from the Pool region.

The UN food agency was also "greatly concerned with another estimated 60,000 people trapped in the forest and inaccessible to humanitarian agencies since March 2002." So far, all efforts to negotiate humanitarian access to the Pool region had failed. "Even if humanitarian agencies eventually gain access to them, the lack of funds might prevent WFP from providing immediate support," the agency today warned.

Since the conflict began last March, thousands of people who fled the fighting hid in the forest, unable to find safe passage to peaceful areas. "We are extremely concerned about the fate of these people," says Sory Ouane, WFP's Country Director for Congo Brazzaville. "We don't know their condition, but we fear the worst."

Meanwhile, around Brazzaville, the newly displaced population is being encamped in churches and abandoned buildings. "The living conditions of these people are very precarious," Ouane said earlier this week. "They fled fighting bringing absolutely nothing with them. Their survival depends on the provision of relief food. We already have cases of malnutrition among children and elderly people," Ouane added.

Return of hostilities
While the year 2002 had started with real hopes of peace and stability in Congo Brazzaville, developments soon proved that the peace and reconciliation process was ending in failure. Last year saw the end of the five-year transitional period, marked by general elections. As President Denis Sassou-Nguesso made sure he was re-elected in a poll exercise believed to be fraudulent, signs of new conflict emerged. 

Fighting erupted in March in the Pool region. By June, the rebel forces, led by Frederic Bitsangou, (or "Pasteur Ntoumi"), were launching attacks against the Brazzaville airport. Neither rebel nor government forces showed any regard to the safety of the civilian population, according to UN reports. 

The hostilities have produced an ever-increasing number of internally displaced people, most of them fleeing to Brazzaville, the Bouenza Plateaux and Niari. While few government funds are made available, aid agencies such as the WFP are providing food and shelter. But also the UN agency is short on funds. "WFP urgently needs some 4,000 tons of food to assist the displaced populations until mid-2003," the agency today said. If donations did not arrive, the programme would have to be suspended. 

Sources: Based on UN sources and afrol archives

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