Fighting between militia groups and Congolese armed forces supported by the UN, as well as attacks and violence against civilians, caused the displacement of some 800,000 people in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during the first six months of 2009. As a result of these and earlier episodes, an estimated two million people were displaced in North and South Kivu and Orientale Province as of the end of July 2009. Many internally displaced people (IDPs) have not received assistance from international agencies, whose access has been blocked by the insecurity. Tens of thousands have sought shelter in camps and spontaneous settlements, as the resident population’s capacity to host IDPs has declined.

Since the mid-1990s, millions of Congolese have fled their homes to escape fighting between rebel groups and the government, in a complex conflict which has also involved neighbouring states. The International Rescue Committee estimated in January 2008 that some 5.4 million had died as a result of the conflict. Displacement peaked in 2003, with an estimated 3.4 million people forced from their homes, most of them in eastern DRC.

Read full Report on Internal Displacement in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)