Text:
U.N. says 235,000 displaced in eastern Congo
By Todd Pitman
GOMA, Congo, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Close to a quarter of a rebel-held east of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations said on Friday.
Charles Petrie, senior adviser to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Congo, told reporters 235,000 civilians were displaced in two provinces which border neighbouring Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.
``In North Kivu the number is about 110,000 displaced and in South Kivu there are about 125,000,'' Petrie said.
For years, eastern Congo has been a theatre of ethnic tensions which has kept people on the move.
Petrie said many of the displaced were ``chronic'' cases, but a significant
number had been displaced since early August,when rebels backed by Rwanda and
Uganda launched a revolt to
oust President Laurent Kabila.
Most U.N. operations in eastern Congo ground to a halt after the rebellion began when the organisation pulled out its expatriate staff.
But Petrie said after meetings in the border town of Goma with senior rebel leaders the U.N. delegation had decided to ``very shortly'' restart operations in rebel-held territories to increase deliveries of humanitarian aid, including food, seeds and tools.
The rebels have captured huge territories in the north and east of the vast nation since launching the uprising, but residents say rebel authority is limited outside major towns.
Travellers and local journalists in eastern Congo report frequent ambushes in the area by bandits or Rwandan Hutu Interahamwe militia, as well as clashes between traditional Congolese Mai Mai warriors and rebels which have left hundreds of peasants displaced on roadsides.
Rebel political chief Ernest Wamba dia Wamba told reporters humanitarian assistance, including food and medical aid, were urgent.
``These (eastern) provinces are probably the richest in the country, but people are hungry,'' he said.
Wamba said hundreds of thousands of cattle had been looted or killed and farms and plantations were being left untended.
He blamed the rampant insecurity in North and South Kivu on marauding bands of militia, but said the rebels were conducting operations to secure the lush volcanic hills and valleys.
``The plantations are not safe, there are lots of Mai Mai and armed Interahamwe roaming there,'' Wamba said. ``So the (rebel) army is trying just militarily to clear the place.''
An aid worker in Goma said hospitals in Rutshuru, around 70 km (45 miles) north of Goma, were filled with wounded, apparently victims of widespread banditry.
Last week, dozens of people were killed when the Mai Mai,who believe magic water can protect them from bullets, launched an attack on the eastern town of Bukavu in South Kivu.
U.N. officials said their return to the east was solely humanitarian and not a recognition of rebel authority.
Reut11:23 01-22-99