Geneva - More than 300 000 people have
fled inter-ethnic violence in northeastern Democratic Republic
of Congo since early June, complicating the tracing and
treatment of patients at risk from Ebola, UN aid agencies said
on Tuesday.
At least 161 people have been killed in a northeastern
province of Democratic Republic of Congo in the past week, local
officials said on Monday, in an apparent resurgence of ethnic
clashes between farming and herding communities.
"Violence in northeastern parts of the Democratic Republic
of Congo is reported to have displaced more than 300,000 since
early June. The situation in Ituri province has deteriorated
since the middle of last week, with multiple attacks involving
the Hema and Lendu groups," the U.N. refugee agency spokesman
Babar Baloch told a news briefing.
The UNHCR fears that the escalation could engulf large parts
of the province, amid reports of killings, kidnappings and
sexual violence unleashed against civilians, he said. The
government is trying to bring the clashes under control, he
added.
Two women heading towards Congo carry food on their heads as they walk past Ugandan army soldiers ensuring those crossing the border do not do so without being screened for symptoms of Ebola. Picture: Ronald Kabuubi/AP
As Congolese flee violence at "this massive scale", fears
are that more people will try to seek safety in Uganda, crossing
Lake Albert, Baloch said.
An Ebola epidemic in Congo, which spread to Uganda last
week, has caused 2,168 infections since August, including 1,449
deaths, with Ituri accounting for about 10 percent of cases and
deaths, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.
"We are always saying the mobility of the population in
North Kivu and Ituri is a risk factor," Jasarevic told the
briefing.
A woman and her children wait to receive Ebola vaccinations, in the village of Mabalako, in eastern Congo. Picture: Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP
"So every time you have people moving in high numbers, it is
more complicated to do the work of follow-up, contact tracing,
follow up on the people who are supposed basically to be
observed on a daily basis for 21 days," he said, referring to
the disease's incubation period.