2 - DRC: Government troops "on the rampage"
GISENYI, RWANDA, 30 October (IRIN) - While much of the criticism over the sharp escalation of violence in North Kivu has been levelled at troops loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda, on the night of 29 October, government troops reportedly went on the rampage in Goma.
"Last night I was in my home with my family," Stuart, a resident who fled to Gisenyi in Rwanda, told IRIN. "Government troops were shooting outside, in the street, all over the neighbourhood. They were shooting heavy guns and breaking into people's houses, and killing people, and looting; I saw them. It felt like anarchy, there was no law," he said.
"The situation is very bad. When you see Congolese people fighting other Congolese people and looting their homes it is very frightening. My family aren't safe. I couldn't bring them with me because I don't have the means, I can't afford to accommodate them if I bring them all across.
"This is very much the worst it's been in the last 10 years, even during the war, I've never been this scared," said Stuart.
There were reports of killings and other atrocities. "A family of six people was killed by soldiers, a man and his two sons were beaten and there were also cases of looting and rape," Jason Luneno, head of Goma's civil society, told IRIN.
John, another Goma resident, said he had seen soldiers "fleeing in disarray, some in tanks, some in requisitioned civilian vehicles". He also witnessed tens of thousands of displaced coming in from villages where there had been fighting.
The following day, however, the town was eerily calm and empty. "We don't know what's happened to the displaced population because everyone went their own way," said Ibrahima Coly, head of the UN Refugee Agency's Goma office.
He said some 30,000 displaced people (IDPs) had arrived the previous day at an established IDP camp in Goma but quickly fled again as panic spread across the town. "This [30 October] morning the town was deserted, shops are closed."
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3 - DRC: Many aid agencies quit Goma
GISENYI, RWANDA, 30 October (IRIN) - Several aid agencies have evacuated their staff from the eastern town of Goma, where an uneasy calm prevailed on 30 October after days of fierce fighting.
On 29 October, UN civilian staff were moved from Goma to a compound on the shores of Lake Kivu.
"We heard some shooting in town last night and heard reports of looting ... we have pulled out all expatriate staff to Gisenyi [a town just across the Rwandan border] but have tried to maintain minimum activities in Goma," an official with Save the Children told IRIN.
"This morning MONUC [the UN Mission in DRC] were saying the situation is calm in town. They said NGOs can carry out operations but should return to the safety of the UN compounds before 5pm," he added.
"We were forced to evacuate, given the mounting dangers posed to our staff on the ground," Wilfred Mlay, the Africa vice-president of World Vision, said in a statement. "But we remain very concerned about the humanitarian crisis faced by people in Goma and Rutshuru."
Médecins Sans Frontières head of mission Erna Van Goor told IRIN: "Some non-essential staff have been evacuated from Goma to the Rwanda border as a precaution. We still have all our sections functioning and we are continuing operations."
"The situation is extremely volatile and is changing from hour to hour. MSF teams continue to provide independent emergency medical aid to people in towns and camps throughout the conflict zone, namely in and around Kitchanga, Masisi, Mweso, Nyanzale and Kayna," according to an MSF statement issued on 30 October.
"It's not always easy to find the displaced people. We go to an area one week where there is a village and we go back the next week and it's empty. Are they in a centre, a village or a camp where we can provide healthcare? Or are they hiding in the bush where we cannot access them? We don't know."
Around a million people in North Kivu are internally displaced and many have been so for months and sometimes years. A spike in fighting since August 2008 put 250,000 people to flight, many of whom had been displaced several times.
"Only a minority of these have found refuge with host families. Most set themselves up in public places or created so-called spontaneous camps, or went to established camps," said Nestor Yombo, head of information for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in DRC.
"People keep moving according to where the fighting is or their perception of how things are evolving, or because of pressure from the army and the armed groups," he said.
"This latest crisis has created serious humanitarian needs, especially in terms of food and non-food items, shelter, water and sanitation, health and protection," said Yombo. He added that the ability of aid workers to respond was impeded by "the violence of the fighting, roadblocks, the requisitioning of humanitarian vehicles, peoples' resentment and physical inaccessibility".
Laurent Nkunda's rebel group said in a statement on 30 October it had opened humanitarian corridors "to allow IDPs around Goma to return home".
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