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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 27 January 2006

DRC: Timeline of latest violence in eastern Congo

KINSHASA, 27 Jan 2006 (IRIN) - Fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern province of North Kivu has displaced thousands of civilians in recent weeks. Below is a timeline of the latest violence in the province:

17 Jan - Attacks by insurgents against the Congolese Army's 5th brigade begin in North Kivu province. A group of soldiers from the brigade repel an attack in Bunagana, 70 km northeast of the provincial capital, Goma.

Reports differ as to the identity of the insurgents; the local residents say the attackers are loyal to former dissident Gen Laurent Nkunda, who is alleged to have the backing of the Rwandan military.

19 Jan - The 5th brigade withdraws after another attack by insurgents in Bunagana and Tongo. The insurgents capture the villages of Rwindi, in Virunga Park, and Rutshuru. The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) says the fighting has displaced 20,000 civilians.

An observer in Goma says that in Rutshuru, it is "hard to tell" who "is FARDC [Congolese army], who’s not, who is really who, and who are assailants, who is guaranteeing security."

22 Jan - The insurgents flee following a joint deployment of troops from MONUC and the Congolese army from Rutshuru to Rwindi. MONUC and the Congolese army launch another joint operation in the direction of Kibiriz and Rwindi from the Kanyabayonga side, and regain control of disputed areas, including the territory of Rutshuru in the north and Bunagana in the south of the province.

23 Jan - The insurgents launch a new attack in the region but are driven out by MONUC and Congolese troops.

24 Jan - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says it is worried about members of the civilian population, to whom it usually supplies food.

"WFP is really worried about the population because we haven't had access to them since Friday," says Aya Shneerson, head of the WFP's sub-office in Goma. Shneerson says WFP usually distributes food to "tens of thousands" of children and vulnerable members of the civilian population as well as to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in areas north of Goma.

24 Jan - MSF-France, which supplied drugs to the 120-bed hospital in Rutshuru, says it is worried about the people who depend on its transport to be taken to hospital from areas surrounding Rutshuru. MSF says it usually transports children with severe cases of malaria to Rutshuru hospital by vehicle.

25 Jan - UNHCR says 7,000 Congolese who fled across the border into Uganda after renegade Congolese army units attacked other army units in Rutshuru and other towns in North Kivu province, have crossed back into the DRC. The agency says 13,000 refugees remain in Uganda, however, and that it plans to move them to an old refugee camp, farther inside the country.

26 Jan - MSF-France representative Jean Sebastien Mapte says the agency managed to deliver drugs to Rutshuru hospital on 25 January. He describes the situation around Rutshuru as calmer but still tense.

28 Jan - Military insurgents renew attacks in Rutshuru territory, displacing 2,000 civilians into Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu.

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but May not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006