Cologne. Malteser International currently prepares to extend its relief measures fort he civilians in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo. "We follow the developments in the region with enormous concerns", says Dennis Müller, Congo expert of Malteser International. "Since August 2008, there are more than 850,000 internally displaced persons. If the political situation deteriorates, this figure is expected to rise dramatically."

Since the ceasefire between the Congolese army and the Tutsi rebels of the CNDP, the war-torn region is dominated by a tense calm. The arrest of the CNDP-leader Laurent Nkunda in Rwanda and the plan of the Rwandese and the Congolese army to fight together against the Hutu-militia FDLR could lead to "new and heavy fighting".

In this context, Malteser International explicitly underlines the necessity to respect the international humanitarian law. Especially the protection of the civilians must be observed by all parties involved. Furthermore, they must guarantee the access to the affected population.

Malteser International has been working in the East of the DR Congo since 1996. When the fighting between rebels and the Congolese army resurged in autumn 2008, Malteser International was organising food distributions for more than 30,000 internally displaced persons and treats patients suffering from severe traumata.

Join our network of relief and donate: Donation Account 2020122; Pax-Bank Köln, von-Werth-Str. 25-27, D-50670 Köln, Germany, Sort Code : 370 60 193; IBAN : DE93 3706 0193 0002 0201 22; BIC: GENODED1PAX Reference : "Congo" Or online at www.malteser-spenden.de or http://www.maltarelief.org