CONDITIONS FOR CONGOLESE EXPELLED FROM ANGOLA STABILIZING

CONDITIONS FOR CONGOLESE EXPELLED FROM ANGOLA STABILIZING

NEW YORK, 7 May (OCHA) -- The humanitarian situation of tens of thousands of Congolese expelled from neighbouring Angola over these past few weeks appears to be stabilizing.  The number of expellees entering into one of the main entry points has decreased from a rate of hundreds to dozens of persons crossing each day.

Since the expulsions began in March, some 67,000 Congolese have been registered by local crisis committees after entering into the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Bandundu and Western Kasai provinces, which border Angola.  Official estimates indicate that 80,000-100,000 illegal diamond migrants have been or will be evicted from Angola.

As most of the expellees have found refuge with host families or are constantly on the move throughout a vast area in Bandundu and Western Kasai, the verification and monitoring of this vulnerable population by humanitarian partners is proving difficult.  In BandunduProvince, for example, the majority of expellees have dispersed throughout the southern part of the province, and there are currently 8,000 blocked in Tembo town.

United Nations humanitarian actors and their non-governmental organization (NGO) partners continue to deliver aid where feasible. The World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing eight-day rations to expellees who arrive in Kahemba, BandundaProvince.  In other areas, the WFP is evaluating the best way to provide prompt food assistance given logistical constraints. The non-governmental organization Caritas and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have started distributing supplies in Kahungula, BandunduProvince.  The UNICEF is currently pre-positioning stocks in Tembo and Kahungula, BandunduProvince, and Tshikapa and Kananga, Western Kasai, in case there should be another wave of arrivals.

The NGO Médecins sans frontières-Belgium continues its medical screenings in Kahungula, Bandundu.  The international NGO Atlas Logistiques has agreed to start the rehabilitation of two bridges between Tembo and Kahungula, which are currently impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) remains concerned over continuing reports of sexual abuse of expellees and for the well-being of the tens of thousands of victims who may have already been affected by this mistreatment.  Under the pretext of searching for hidden diamonds, Angolan military agents have reportedly been systematically sexually abusing women and girls.  On the Congolese side of the border, OCHA has also started receiving reports of women and children being subjected to sexual violence at the hands of Congolese police.

For further information, please call:  Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel: 917 367 5126, mobile: 917 892 1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel: 41 22 917 2653, mobile: 41(0) 79 473 4570.

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