Civilians fleeing violence in east Democratic Republic of Congo are facing a shortage of medical care as disease outbreaks begin to plague the troubled region, the charity Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) said on Wednesday.
Fighting between government troops and forces loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda have pushed civilians from their homes several times in ongoing flare-ups which have intensified since August.
”We are witnessing an alarming situation in our medical programme in Masisi and Rutshuru districts,” said Colette Gadenne, head of mission for the group.
”The difficulty in accessing care, malnutrition, epidemics and violence against civilians all mean that people here are very vulnerable.”
The charity added that health workers were also fleeing, leaving hospitals bereft of staff, while supplies were not reaching health centres.
MSF said the town of Rutshuru, which has doubled in population in one month, was facing a cholera epidemic, the first time since the charity deployed in the area in 2005. About 1 200 people have been treated since mid-November.
The warning comes as President Joseph Kabila announced on Tuesday the start of a peace conference to settle the conflict in North Kivu province, which is set to begin December 27.
Nonetheless, fighting continued unabated, with 17 rebels and two soldiers killed outside Goma Tuesday, the Misna news agency reported.
About 400 000 people have been forced from their homes in the ongoing
fighting since late last year.
Nkunda, who claims he is fighting to protect Congolese Tutsis, took up arms against the government charging too little was being done to rid the region of Hutu rebels, who have links to the perpetrators of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. – Sapa-DPA