Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- Deployment of Ugandan militaries in Dungu and Isiro since 14/15 December
- Joint military operations, aerial strikes
on LRA positions
- 13 humanitarian organizations present in
Dungu
- Food distribution in Dungu continuing
since 18 December
Security/Military Context
On 14 December, DRC, Uganda and Sudan
launched joint military operations against
positions of the Lord’s Resistance Army
(LRA) in the district of Haut-Uélé. The
deployment of Ugandan UPDF troops via air
started on 14 December to Dungu and on 15
December to Isiro. The strength of these
deployments is foreseen to total 1,500
troops.
The operations against LRA started with
aerial bombardments of LRA positions by the
Ugandan army in Bawezi (camp Kiswahili) in
Garamba Park, and continued in Bitima,
Bayote, Duru, Pilipili and Suke, about 80
to 100 km north of Dungu town.
The air lift of the logistics cluster for
the transportation of food and NFI from
Entebbe to Dungu has been suspended since
15 December due to the aerial strikes.
The security situation in Dungu town and
the southern part of Dungu, where most of
the IDPs are congregated, remains calm for
the moment.
Advocacy
The civil society of Dungu expressed
dissenting views on the military offensive:
while the military offensive if successful
could bring about a definitive solution to
the LRA question, it at the same time puts
the civil society at risk, notably through
the aerial bombardments.
Humanitarian organizations are deeply
concerned about civilians that have been
abducted by the LRA and risk to be caught
in the crossfire during the attacks.
LRA combatants could retaliate against the
civilian population that is still present
in areas of LRA camps in the north of
Dungu.
The civil society requested OCHA to
advocate for the adoption of measures to
minimize collateral damage.
Protection
FARDC picked up at least six children that
had been abducted by the LRA and deployed
in Kiliwa (65 km north of Dungu). The
children, four boys and two girls, had been
abducted during the September attacks in
Dungu territory. According to the
spokesperson of the UPDF, the children fled
during the aerial bombardment of the
Kiswahili camp in Garamba Park, on Sunday,
14 December.
One of the girls, 11 yeas old, had been
forced to marry an LRA fighter. And the
other girl, 17 years old, is currently
pregnant. UNHCR has taken over these cases
and intends to refer them to COOPI for
medical and psycho-social care.
IDPs
The series of armed attacks of LRA elements
on villages in Dungu territory (Haut-Uele
district) has provoked numerous population
displacements since 17 September. The
majority of IDPs are in Dungu and Niangara
territories.
The estimated number of IDPs in Dungu and
its environment is assessed at 20,000 to
30,000 persons. According to an assessment
of Caritas-Dungu of end November, the
number of IDPs in the 30 km perimeter
around Dungu could exceed 10,000 families.
In addition to that Caritas reported 383
displaced families in Isiro and 571
displaced families in Niangara. For the
moment, no reliable estimations for the
number of displaced persons in Bangadi and
Ngilima are available.
Access
The airlift between Entebbe and Dungu has
been temporarily suspended due to increased
air traffic caused by the deployment of the
Ugandan troops. Furthermore the aircraft
chartered by the Logistic Cluster to
transport humanitarian assistance has been
confiscated by the Ugandan army to
transport military equipment.
The date for the resumption of the airlift
has not been confirmed yet. Out of the 16
flight rotations initially scheduled for
the first phase of the airlift, 5 are still
outstanding. OCHA requested a meeting for
20 December with MONUC AirOps/Movcon in
Bunia to determine the date for the
resumption of the humanitarian airlift.
There is no access problem for the time
being to the Logistics Cluster Warehouse
situated at the MONUC base in the airport.
Humanitarian response
Thirteen humanitarian organizations are
present in Dungu. ADSSE, Caritas-Dungu and
WFP are covering the food sector,
Caritas-Dungu, UNHCR,
UNICEF/Solidarités-RRM, MSF-Switzerland
carry out NFI distributions, MEDAIR and
MSF-Switzerland are active in the Health
Sector, COOPI provides Nutrition, CESVI and
LWF undertake WASH interventions, Save the
Children and UNHCR provide protection and
OCHA coordinates the response.
Before the suspension of the airlift, which
is financed by the Rapid Response
Mechanism, 11 humanitarian flights were
organized from Entebbe to Dungu. A total of
42 tons of food, 1,000 NFI kits and 5,000L
of fuel were airlifted.
On December 18, WFP, through his local
partner ADSSE, began the distribution of 20
tons of food for 1,877 displaced families
(8,500 persons), in the town of Dungu. Each
household received a one week ration
consisting of 10.5 kg of maize meal, 2.5 kg
of peas, 700 grams of oil and 150 grams of
salt. The second phase of the
distributions, which should be carried out
by Caritas-Dungu on December 20, will take
place on the southern axis of Dungu and
will target displaced families who have
lost their harvests as well as families
hosting at least 15 people.
During the meeting of the Core Group of
Haut-Uele (the crisis structure established
within the framework of the Contingency
Plan for the Haut-Uele) on 15 December, it
was decided that the distribution of food
will be made before the NFI distribution in
order to prevent that the latter are sold
or exchanged for food.
For further information please refer to :
http://www.rdc-humanitaire.net
Contacts:
Jean-Charles Dupin, Head of Office, OCHA
Bunia, dupin@un.org, Tél.: +243 998 604 325
Ivo Brandau, Chargé d’information OCHA-RDC,
brandau@un.org, Tél. : + 243 815 142 956
Noel Tsekouras, Desk Officer OCHA New York,
tsekouras@un.org, Tél.: + 1 917 367 93 67
