There was abundant precipitation over the entire country in February and early March. The second maize crop is flowering/maturing in central parts and the south while rice is growing satisfactorily in the south. Land preparation for the first maize planting is underway in the north. Severe rainfall deficit was reported from June 1996 to January 1997 in the Bas Zaire area in the west, where it has substantially limited food production. Zairean government made a request for food and seed assistance in this area.
The food supply situation continues to deteriorate in eastern Zaire. Advances by insurgents have forced Rwandan refugees who had settled in the region and local Zairians to flee. Following those at Amisi and Lubutu, the refugee camps of Tingi Tingi have been abandoned by their 160 000 to 170 000 inhabitants in late February. Severe malnutrition is reported. Food aid distributions were underway in the camps but, as a result of poor infrastructure, food was difficult to transport to the area and only limited quantities could be supplied. Distributions are now impossible as refugees are moving and are dispersed in the forest. By mid-March, about 100 000 refugees and displaced persons were reported in Ubundu, about 100 kilometres south-east of Kisangani, where they were trying to cross the river. Rebels are now controlling Kisangani, the third largest town of Zaire. They are also advancing in southern Shaba where they have taken the town of Kabala. As the conflict continues to spread, UN agencies and NGOs had to leave Kisangani. As a result, relief operations will be particularly difficult to pursue in the region.
There are also an estimated 50 000 assisted and 119 000 unassisted Angolan refugees in southern Zaire. Most of the unassisted population is expected to return spontaneously, following the improvement of the situation. Around 110 000 Sudanese and 18 500 Ugandan refugees also remain in Zaire. In the Kasa� region, approximately 600 000 displaced people, who arrived in 1992, fleeing ethnic violence in the Shaba region are present. Many of them are self sufficient, except in Mwene-Ditu, where their nutritional situation is reported to be critical.