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29/10/08
For immediate release
CAFOD warns of worsening humanitarian crisis in DR Congo
CAFOD has launched a one million pound appeal this week, in response to the drastic deterioration of the humanitarian situation and immense suffering of the people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Renewed fighting in the region between Congolese government troops and rebels has left an estimated 200,000 people homeless.
The money raised from the appeal will support the efforts of its trusted partners working on the ground, to provide basic items, such as blankets, pots and pans and plastic sheeting to the thousands now in need.
CAFOD's Regional Manager for the Great Lakes region, Antonio Cabral said:
"People are arriving just outside of the provincial capital Goma, with whatever they have been able to escape with. They are setting up makeshift camps, with whatever materials they can find. CAFOD partner - Caritas Goma describes the situation as chaotic. A humanitarian disaster is unfolding before our eyes.
"It is crucial that a ceasefire is brokered as soon as possible, so that we can reach those most in need with vital aid."
Notes to Editors:
On January 23 this year, the Congolese government and 22 armed groups signed the Goma peace agreement, committing to an immediate ceasefire and observance of international human rights law. The Goma Agreement followed the November 2007 agreement between the governments of Congo and Rwanda, known as the Nairobi Communiqué, which sought to address the presence of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Rwandan armed group, in eastern Congo. In April 2008, the Congolese government set up the Amani Program to coordinate peace efforts in eastern Congo.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ranks 168 out of 177 countries on the Human Development Index in 2007/2008.
About 3.8 million people are estimated to have died since the conflict began in 1998.
For further information and interviews please contact: Nana Anto-Awuakye on: Tel: 020 7095-5560 or mobile 07799 477 541 or email: nanto-awuakye@cafod.org.uk
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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