DRC: NGO opts out after attack on staff
BUNIA, 25 September 2008 (IRIN) - An international NGO has suspended its activities following attacks on its workers in Ituri District, Orientale Province, in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a senior official said.
"One of our workers was killed and two others injured," Arnaud Havet, the project manager with the German NGO Agro Action Allemande (AAA,) told IRIN.
"An expatriate working with us was injured by the gunfire, and was evacuated abroad."
The personnel were attacked by an armed group while repairing a road along the Bunia-Iga-Nioka highway, in the territory of Djugu on 15 September.
The attackers also took US$10,000, according to local authorities.
"This incident saddens us; we have stopped until further notice," Havet said. The Congolese army had deployed military personnel along the highway, he added.
"We have arrested some suspects for questioning," Germain Ukumu, the Ituri district commissioner said, adding that the attackers were not an organised group. "They were just bandits. Such an attack can happen anywhere, even in the United States."
At least 400 of the AAA workers are former ex-combatants. Since the beginning of the disarmament, demobilisation and reinsertion programme in 2004, at least 25,000 ex-combatants have been disarmed, with more than 10,000 children being demobilised in Ituri.
Meanwhile, a group of 83 aid agencies and human rights organisations have called for urgent action to improve the protection of civilians and mediate increased assistance to vulnerable populations in eastern DRC.
In a statement, the Congo Advocacy Coalition said renewed combat in eastern DRC had caused a drastic deterioration in the humanitarian situation and immense suffering for civilians. An estimated 100,000 civilians, it added, had been forced to flee the most recent violence.
"The situation for civilians is desperate, and it threatens to deteriorate further if fighting continues," said Rebecca Feeley of the ENOUGH Project. "All the parties who signed the Goma peace agreement should adhere strictly to their obligations, including protecting civilians and respecting international humanitarian and human rights law."
According to the Coalition, heavy fighting which started in Rutshuru territory in North Kivu Province, later spread to Masisi and Kalehe in South Kivu.
"All parties must live up to their commitments and cease such attacks immediately," said Juliette Prodhan, country director for Oxfam GB in DRC.
Rp/bn/jm
Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict
[ENDS]
Copyright © IRIN 2008
This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States.
IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
