1. OVERVIEW
The humanitarian situation has recently deteriorated in South Kivu where the military operations called Kimia II have been launched in July 2009 causing new displacements. As of September 2009 the total number of IDPs is estimated at 688,887 of which 204,055 in the period between July 1 and September 30 2009.
Since September 2008, the Oriental Province has witnessed a significant number of attacks carried out by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) causing displacement of population in the Haut and Bas Uele districts. The LRA fighters continue to terrorize the population and are responsible for atrocities and acts of extreme violence: killings, rapes, kidnapping of women and children. In the Haut and Bas Uele district (Orientale province), a continuous rise of the number of displaced in areas such as Dungu and Ango (Dingila) territories has been registered.
Since February 2009, the LRA fighters have been attacking the Bas Uele district causing further displacement in the area. According to the figures collected up to September 30, the number of displaced people in Haut Uele is estimated at 231,738 while in Bas Uele it is at 47,940.
In the Ituri district, in particular in the south of the Irumu territory, the population have been targeted by the militaries. Since the last quarterly report, a slight increase of about 1.000 IDPs (in Aru territory) coming from the Faradje territory has been registered.
In North Kivu, an increased number of returnees as a consequence of the closing down of IDP camps in the area of Goma has been registered. Since January 2009, it is estimated that about 433,000 people have returned. The main areas of return are: Lubero (51%), Rutshuru (36%) and Masisi (13%).
Even though the security situation in North Kivu has not improved during the reporting period, only few displacements have been registered in Walikale, Masisi, Lubero and Beni territories. The total number of IDPs in North Kivu has been estimated at 983,765.
