A new study has found that some 2.5 million people have been killed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, since the outbreak of fighting in August 1998. The International Rescue Committee will release the details next week. It says the situation this year is worse than last year with a high mortality rate especially amongst children. The death-toll is set to rise if victims in the country's western parts are included.
The conflict in Congo started in 1998 and has since drawn in armies of five African countries. Following his father's death, Congolese President Joseph Kabila has been trying to revive the peace process. Foreign troops have slowly begun withdrawing. Meanwhile, the International Rescue Committee has started counting the number of victims in five provinces in the eastern part of Congo. The author of the report, epidemiologist Les Roberts, explains how the research was carried out.
"We had a team of trained interviewers, who spoke to households containing 20.000 people. The areas we have surveyed only contained 1.3 million people. Most households have experienced death because of this war. We are estimating that 2.5 million people have died. It could be as low as 2.2 million, it could be as high as 3 million."
Refugees
The study estimates that around 200,000 people died as a direct result of the fighting. But it says the overwhelming majority of deaths were caused by malnutrition and disease. Hundreds of thousands of people fled into jungles and other remote areas where they have no food or medicines. Children, in particular, have little chance of surviving these harsh conditions.
Relief workers have been unable to get access to these refugees because of the continuing lack of security. Only last week, six members of the International Red Cross were assassinated. They were on their way to a field hospital in Uturi province to deliver relief supplies when they were ambushed. Other aid workers expressed shock and disbelief at their deaths. Red Cross spokesman Darcy Kristin says security had recently improved in the area.
"We had hoped that there was some stability coming. Actually, our colleagues were out in the field because we had assumed that for several weeks the area was calm and that there had come a situation, in which we felt we could work in very good conditions. Unfortunately, the events have showed us that we were wrong and that anything can happen. We hope that, at some point, things could improve in the Democratic Republic of Congo because there is enormous suffering among the population."
Complex War
It's unknown who's responsible for last week's attack. The situation in Congo is totally confused. Backed by forces from Namibia, Angola and Zimbabwe, the Congolese government army is fighting rebels supported by Uganda and Rwanda. Conflicts are being fought out within these coalitions, too. Last year, for instance, troops from Uganda and Rwanda clashed with each other. Besides, the region has a long history of ethnic strife. Ethnic Hema and Lendu are currently at war in eastern Congo.
Amid these complexities, the new President Joseph Kabila is trying to breathe new life in to the 1999 peace accord. However, early this week, the Ugandan government announced it is pulling out of the talks. The move followed a damning report from the United Nations accusing Uganda of systematically plundering Congo's vast natural resources.
Lasting peace is still a long way off. This means there's no end in sight to the suffering of the Congolese people. It also means that the death-toll in the war-torn country is set to rise even further.
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Tags: Angola, Congo, International Rescue Committee, IRC, Joseph Kabila, Kinshasa, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe