drc: UN Must Protect Civilians Under Threat in Ituri

Congo: UN Must Protect Civilians Under Threat in Ituri
Fighting Escalates in Power Vacuum

(New York, May 8, 2003) - The United Nations Observer Mission in
Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) must urgently protect civilians
threatened by renewed violence in the war-torn region of Ituri in
northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Human Rights Watch said
today.

Following yesterday's withdrawal of Ugandan troops from the provincial
capital of Bunia, Hema militias began fighting Lendu and Ngiti militias
for control of the town. Thousands of combatants armed with firearms,
spears, axes and machetes streamed into the town as panicked civilians
fled or sought refuge in one of the sites where MONUC troops have been
posted. Witnesses in Bunia reported fighting in two suburbs and near the
airport. Telephone conversations with persons in the area were
interrupted by bursts of gunfire.

"The Security Council has given MONUC a mandate to 'protect civilians
under imminent threat of physical violence,'" said Alison Des Forges,
senior adviser to the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch. "But to do
that, it must have enough troops and equipment."

The Hema and Lendu have been fighting since 1999 in a conflict that has
claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced some 500,000 people. In
a fast-changing scene, the groups have allied with several different
Congolese rebel groups and with foreign backers, including Uganda and
Rwanda. With an agenda of apparent ethnic purification, the people of
one group have massacred people of the other, yielding a spiral of
deadly reprisal attacks.

The United Nations recently increased its troops in the area from eight
to about 400, anticipating that fighting might resume with the departure
of the Ugandans who have exercised de facto control in the region since
1999. The Ugandans left after a series of peace deals called for their
withdrawal. A civilian administration set up recently by agreement among
the various parties is supposed to govern the area but appears unable to
control the deteriorating situation. According to preliminary reports,
some MONUC soldiers were trying to restore order by conducting patrols
and setting up roadblocks but they were far outnumbered by militia
forces.

Human Rights Watch urged the Security Council and the U.N. peacekeeping
office to urgently send MONUC reinforcements to Ituri from elsewhere in
the DRC. As of March 31, there were 3,805 MONUC troops in the DRC. MONUC
had been expected to deploy another 2,000 troops in the area in the
coming months.

"People in Ituri can't wait months for help to come," said Des Forges.
"They're looking to the U.N. and to the rest of us for protection now."

For more information on human rights in DRC, please see:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/congo.php

For more information, please contact:
In Buffalo, Alison Des Forges: +1-716-881-2758
In London, Anneke Van Woudenberg: +44-20-7713-2786

--
Jeff Scott, Ph. D.
Africa Division
Human Rights Watch
Phone: +1-212-216-1834
Fax: +1-212-736-1300
http://www.hrw.org/africa/index.php
en français, http://www.hrw.org/french/africa/