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DRC - Disruption of vaccination effort "crime against humanity"

Thu, 19 Aug 1999 18:17:49 +0200

"serv. informazioni Congosol" <congosol@neomedia.it>

"serv. informazioni Congosol" <congosol@neomedia.it>

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Heavy fighting in Kisangani

Heavy fighting continued in rebel-held Kisangani for a third day on
Monday, apparently between Rwandan and Ugandan forces backing different
factions of the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD),
news agencies and residents said. They said the clashes began at
Kisangani's main airport on Saturday and later turned into fierce street
battles within the city. Residents contacted by IRIN said the fighting in
the city had intensified on Monday morning.

Women and children stranded in vaccination centres

People in Kisangani remained holed up in homes, offices, markets or
wherever they were when the fighting spread into the city on Sunday
afternoon, residents said on Monday. "Hundreds" of women and children were
still stranded in health centres and other sites where they had gone to
receive polio immunisations as part of the three-day national vaccination
campaign that started on Friday, one resident told IRIN. Water and
electricity supplies had been cut on Sunday, but had resumed on Monday in
some parts of the city. Several civilians had been injured or wounded but
casualty figures were not yet available, the sources said.

Origin of clash disputed

The Rwanda News Agency (RNA) reported on Monday that the clashes started
when about 400 Ugandan soldiers were flown to Kisangani and ordered to
encircle Rwandan positions at the airport, some 17 km outside the city.
"It became inevitable to respond to this attack which was aimed at driving
us out of the airport normally shared by our two armies," a Rwandan senior
army officer told RNA.

Meanwhile, the Uganda-backed RCD-Kisangani faction said in a statement
received by IRIN on Monday that the clashes started when Rwandan soldiers
fired gunshots at a Ugandan army convoy "to provoke a direct confrontation
in an effort to establish a position" between Ugandan headquarters and the
main airport. An estimated 4,500 Rwandan reinforcements had been flown
into Kisangani since last Wednesday as part of Rwandan preparations for
"an offensive to capture and occupy the city of Kisangani against the will
of the population," the statement added.

Ugandan and Rwandan leaders meet to resolve conflict

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwanda's Vice-President Paul Kagame
were due to meet on Monday at a lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park,
southwestern Uganda, in a bid to find a solution to the conflict between
their troops in Kisangani. "The leaders and top government officials are
meeting from this afternoon but I don't have the agenda of their meeting.
The duration of the meeting is also not known yet," Ugandan Presidential
Press Secretary Hope Kivengere told IRIN on Monday. Rwandan radio reported
on Monday that Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu would also be attending
the meeting.

Disruption of vaccination effort "crime against humanity"

Meanwhile, DRC Health Minister Mashako Mamba has accused Rwanda and Uganda
of committing a "crime against humanity" because the power cut resulting
from the clashes in Kisangani had led to the "spoiling of three million
doses of vaccines" against polio, measles and other fatal but
vaccine-preventable childhood diseases. "By cutting power, the aggressors
have thus shortened the lives of these children," Mashako told state
television on Sunday. Humanitarian sources told IRIN on Monday that
vaccines stored in a cold room in Kisangani might have been affected by
the power cut, but it was still not known whether back-up power systems
had been activated to prevent the vaccines from being ruined.

The material contained in this communication may not be taken always to
reflect the views of the Service.
Willing to offer you these informations quickly, the Service makes the
choice of being not always able to verify them, and couldn't be held
responsible for the accuracy of the original sources.
We apologize to those who already received this document.

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