FAO/GIEWS: Africa Report - March 1998:

CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF

CURRENT SITUATION

Torrential rain in January caused flooding and landslides in several regions of the country. In the Kivu region, in the east, the Bukavu-Uvira road has been blocked. Prices have already doubled in Uvira due to the difficulty in transporting goods along the traditional Dar es Salaam-Kigoma-Uvira supply line. Importers are now exploring the Mombasa-Uganda-Goma link. Meanwhile, the railway bridge from Kalemie to Kindu collapsed, forcing to find an alternative route to ferry supplies.

Flooding and an epidemic of cholera are reported from Kisangani. A UN inter-agency mission visited the town to assess the needs of the affected population. Over 1 500 persons have been affected by cholera, with 270 deaths reported. Emergency assistance has been air-lifted. Flooding has also affected Kinshasa where the Congo river reached the highest levels for at least five years and burst its banks in several areas. Heavy flooding is also reported in the town of Mbandaka where about 4 000 persons have been affected, as well as in Kalemie, in the southeast, which has been cut off from the rest of the country in December when a bridge was swept away.

The food supply situation is critical in the east where severe malnutrition is reported among the remaining refugees and the security situation is still tense. Increased civil strife in North and South Kivu has resulted in considerable population movements and disorder, while recent flooding has impeded the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Some fighting has been reported in Uvira in mid-February. In addition to about 190 000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), of whom some 95 000 in Masisi, humanitarian sources estimate the number of remaining refugees at more than 20 000. UNHCR has suspended its operations related to Rwandan refugees as well as rehabilitation activities in this region and food aid monitoring and distribution remains very limited. In Uvira region, refugees are coming from Burundi. Some 400-500 refugees arrived from Burundi over the past few weeks. According to UNHCR, most of the refugees were located in Sange and Kiliba, two areas north of Uvira, and many of them were being absorbed into the local communities. In the West, most of the 40 000 Congolese who had sought refuge in Kinshasa following fighting in Brazzaville have returned. About 50 000 assisted and 119 000 unassisted Angolan refugees ere located in the south of the country. Around 92 000 Sudanese and 37 000 Ugandan refugees also remain in the country. The 1998 cereal import requirement (January/December) is estimated at about 200 000 tonnes of wheat and rice and 60 000 tonnes of coarse grains.