Attacks against Congo aid staff on the rise: UN
CONGO: Attacks against aid workers in the Democratic Republic
of Congo are becoming more common, a UN agency said yesterday, pleading
for security guarantees to be given to humanitarian staff.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs said a total of 104 incidents involving aid workers had been
reported in 2008 and two staff had been killed.
“In 2008, there has been an increase in attacks against humanitarian
personnel in Nord-Kivu province, especially since the resumption of
fighting in the territories of Rutshuru and Masisi,” OCHA spokesman Ivo
Brandau told AFP. Fighting since August 28 between government troops and
Laurent Nkunda’s rebel forces has displaced more than 250,000 people in
the eastern Nord-Kivu province. Nkunda’s forces have inflicted heavy
losses on the Congolese army. Kinshasa, Thursday |