15 families in DRC reunited
2008-12-09 20:25
Goma - The Red Cross said on Tuesday it has begun reuniting children and parents separated in eastern Congo as more than a quarter of a million people fled their homes during clashes between rebels and government troops.
At least 134 youngsters without guardians have been registered since the end of October, but the Red Cross said the real number could be much higher.
"There was panic when the guns started to fire," said Prosper Sebuhire, the Goma-based manager of the new campaign. "People fled in every direction. In the confusion, many people lost sight of their children."
Messages are being broadcast on four radio stations in violence-struck areas and the Red Cross will begin posting photographs of lost children in areas where displaced people are gathered.
Fifteen families have been reunited over the past week, the Red Cross said in a statement.
Rebels supporting breakaway Gen. Laurent Nkunda launched an offensive in eastern Congo on August 28.
The fighting is the latest round in years of conflict that began when Rwanda's genocidal Hutu fighters fled over the border and into the Congolese forest after killing more than 500 000 Tutsis in 1994.
Nkunda says he is fighting to protect Congo's minorities, especially ethnic Tutsis. But critics say Nkunda is more interested in raw power and Congo's mineral wealth.
Both government and rebel fighters have been accused of raping, mutilating and killing civilians.
The current force of 17 000 UN peacekeepers - the largest UN peacekeeping force in the world - is expected to be reinforced with an additional 3 000 soldiers, but they may take several months to deploy.
UN-backed peace talks are underway in Nairobi, Kenya, led by special UN envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, who hopes the talks can establish a lasting cease-fire and allow aid deliveries into the troubled region. But neither Nkunda nor Congolese president Joseph Kabila is attending.
Congo's 1998-2003 war drew in the armies of at least six nearby nations and aid groups say ongoing violence has left more than three million people dead. The latest clashes have sparked fears that Congo could return to all-out war.
- AP