DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO* (18 June)

There was abundant precipitation over the entire country since the beginning of the year. Rainfall moved towards the north in May, decreased and stopped in the south and the centre. In the north and south, the second maize crop is being harvested while land preparation is underway for main maize planting in the centre. Planting of millet and sorghum is drawing to an end in the east.

Civil disturbances occurred in May in Kinshasa between the new government and the opposition. The food supply situation is still critical in the east where severe malnutrition is reported among remaining refugees and the security situation is still tense. As of 18 June, more than 50 000 Rwandan refugees had been repatriated by air from the eastern city of Kisangani to Rwanda. About 2 000 refugees are at Kisangani whilst Ubundu no longer has refugees. Some 12 000 Rwandan refugees were also reported around Mbandaka, 600 km west of Kisangani, of which an unspecified number were in forest areas. As of 18 June, about 7 500 had been repatriated by air to Rwanda. A small scale food-for-work project is underway to rehabilitate the railroad between Kinsangani and Ubundu. In the West, near Congo, more than 30 000 Rwandan refugees had scattered. About 15 000 have fled by boat to neighbouring Congo. There are also an estimated 50 000 assisted and 119 000 unassisted Angolan refugees in the south of the country. Most of the unassisted population is expected to return spontaneously, following the improvement of the situation in Angola while repatriation for the assisted refugees is scheduled to begin by mid-1997. Around 92 000 Sudanese and 18 500 Ugandan refugees also remain in the country. 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.

The staple foodcrops are sweet potatoes, cassava and plantains. The cereal output for 1996 is estimated at about 1 675 000 tons. The cereal import requirement for 1996/97 (January/December) is estimated at 180 000 tons of wheat and rice and 60 000 tons of coarse grains.