D.R. Congo > Country Background and Current Challenges
The first civil and regional war in D.R. Congo began in 1996, followed by a second internal and regional conflict that started in August 1998. A transitional government was appointed in 2003 following a peace agreement that lasted until the presidential elections of 2006.
Eastern D.R. Congo is characterised by the presence of different factions of armed rebel groups that traumatise local populations through lootings, kidnappings, sexual violence, and killings. As a result, more than 400,000 people have been displaced in Province Orientale since 2003 and more than 20,000 Congolese are living as refugees in neighboring Sudan and Central African Republic [1].
In 2006, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group, agreed to a cessation of hostilities in Uganda and moved their bases to Garamba National Park in Haut Uélé, in the northeast corner of D.R. Congo. The LRA started to harass the location population and in December 2008, the Congolese army—in conjunction with the Uganda army−launched Operation Lightning Thunder, intended to crush the LRA. Instead it fragmented the rebel group. In revenge for the attack, the LRA attacked Dungu in Christmas 2008. Continued attacks have resulted in more than 300,000 displaced people in Bas and Haut Uélé. Medair responded to the crisis in Dungu by opening a health project focused on providing access to good quality medical care for the IDPs.
The LRA remain active and are responsible for atrocities including killings, rape, mutilations, and kidnappings of children. The majority of these incidents have been reported around the Faradje and Dungu areas. In July 2011, the U.N. Security Council condemned these attacks and encouraged joint military action against the LRA by the affected governments [2].
In the south of the province, rebel groups, some of which were formed around the Rwandan genocide of 1994, compete for control of mineral resources. They attack villages and travellers on the roads and as a consequence, 120,000 people have been displaced from their villages and fear to return.
Chronic underdevelopment, the huge size of the area, and the very poor condition of the roads—coupled with the actions of the armed groups—continue to be a hindrance to development in the northeastern area. Vulnerable groups in the area (including displaced people and families who have lost their means of livelihoods) are still in need of access to good quality health care, safe drinking water, and proper sanitation facilities within a reasonable distance.
1 Report on attacks and movement of populations in Province Orientale, June 2011,www.rdc-humanitaire.net
2 “Condemning Lords Resistance Army atrocities, the Security Council demands surrender,” UN news centre, www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp
