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Crisis in Congo

Thousands of people displaced by conflict in DR Congo are still unable to return home. Oxfam is there, continuing to help those worst affected by the fighting.

• An upsurge of fighting in Eastern Congo has seen 900,000 displaced since the start of 2009.
• An estimated 1.4 million were already displaced in the country before the latest round of fighting .
• Many civilians have been wounded or killed. Rape and looting have also been reported.

Oxfam is there

Oxfam has expanded its emergency response to deal with the deteriorating situation, providing vital assistance to 800,000 vulnerable people. We are working with local partner organisations to provide vital clean water, sanitation and promote good health and human rights.

In major towns such as Lubero, in North Kivu, we are working with partners to truck 200,000 litres of clean drinking water every day. These towns are currently the safe havens for many displaced people, and the needs are enormous.

In South Kivu province, Oxfam’s new programmes in Bukavu and Uvira will supply water and sanitation to more than 80,000 people. We are also distributing items essential for maintaining good health and hygiene, such as soap and buckets.

Oxfam is also working with Congolese partners to help communities prevent and respond to violence and human rights abuses, through supporting community education and advocacy with local civilian and military authorities. At least 50,000 people in North and South Kivu are benefiting from this project.

You can help

Oxfam aims to respond immediately to humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters, but we can only do this if we have funds ready when they are needed. You can help:

• Donate now to Oxfam's disaster response fund
• or call on 0800 400 666

Background to the conflict

Video: Fleeing violence in the Congo

The five-year conflict

The 1998-2003 conflict in the DR Congo saw huge loss of life. Four million people died, some as a direct result of the violence, but many more from starvation and disease.

The war was between government forces, backed by Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and rebel factions, supported by Rwanda and Uganda.

Fighting was fuelled by the DR Congo’s vast mineral resources and by the flow of small arms into the country.

• An estimated 5.4 million people dead since 1998.
• Around 1 million people made homeless.
• Rape used as a systematic weapon of war.
• Until recently, a fragile peace had seen some people begin to return to their homes, though many more continued to remain in camps.

Continued Instability

Despite the signing of a peace deal in 2002, and democratic elections in 2006, there is still instability in the east of the country.

Since the end of August 2008, intense fighting has resumed between government forces (FARDC) and the rebel CNDP, leaving the peace process that began in Goma in January 2008 in tatters. This fresh wave of violence, culminating in an armed standoff outside the town on 29 October, has forced hundreds of thousands more people from their homes in a region where over a million were already displaced, and has hampered access to very many of those affected.

A long way to go

In some places people are returning to their villages. Helping communities rebuild their lives will be a major task.

• Up to 1 million people have been living in camps for displaced people within the DR Congo
• A million more people sought refuge in neighbouring Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi
• People have lost virtually everything – family, friends, homes and their means of making a living
• Rebel troops need to be reintegrated into the army
• The systematic practice of rape and sexual slavery has led to the rapid advance of HIV and AIDS

Find out more

• Read the latest report from Oxfam International: Waking the devil: the impact of forced disarmament on civilians in the Kivus
• Go to the Congo News Blog
• Read all related news releases