Tracking - Limited Returns in Congo, Gaza Blockade Continues
[Congolese refugees in Uganda - Footage from VOA]
And now the other two horsemen of the apocalypse.
Some Displaced Congolese Begin to Return Home:
Given a week of near-quiet in eastern Congo - including the voluntary withdraw by rebels from a town they captured last Thursday - some displaced Congolese have started to return home.
The UN reports that around 40,000 people have returned to the area around Kanyabayonga. According to a statement released by the UN peacekeeping force, they returned to an area devastated by fighting: "most of the houses were looted by armed troops who carried away mattresses, blankets, kitchen utensils and many valuables."
Some of the returnees have also been denied access to their farms, which are now occupied by Congolese soldiers.
(For more information about the previous battles around Kanyabayonga, see here.)
There are limited returns in Rutshuru as well.
According to a statement released yesterday by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees:
"Some 65,000 Congolese civilians sheltered in the two Kibati camps are in a precarious situation as the warring parties remain in close proximity. We fear that the civilian population could be caught in the crossfire should the fighting resume in this area."
Overall, the fighting in eastern Congo between rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and the Congolese Army (backed by UN peacekeepers) caused a total of 250,000 civilians to flee their homes over the last four months. For a map of the region, see here.
For the most recent UN OCHA Humanitarian Situation Update (December 1st), see here.
Gaza Blockade:
Israel is still refusing to allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza. As described earlier, Israel initially sealed the border on November 4th, in response to Hamas rocket and mortar fire against Israeli towns. UN warehouses soon ran empty, causing the UN to suspend food distributions to 750,000 people on November 14th, though they resumed distributions after Israel allowed supplies to enter Gaza a few days later.
Israel also opened the border crossings on November 24th, but only for a day, following further Hamas rocket attacks.
The blockade - including Israel's refusal to allow fuel into Gaza - is having a brutal impact on everything from health services to water and sanitation. As a recent IRIN article described:
"Adel Abu Sido, 31, a taxi driver from Gaza City, stands over his two-week old premature baby, Hadil, dreading her air supply may abruptly stop.
Hadil's incubator is not reliably providing enough oxygen due to the inconsistent power supply at Al-Shiffa Hospital, the main healthcare centre in the Gaza Strip.
The fuel for hospital generators has nearly run out and a shortage of basic medical supplies has left Al-Shiffa with only 20 percent of the oxygen supply it needs, forcing medical professionals in Gaza to make hard choices, said Gaza health ministry spokesperson Hamam Nasman.
'Fifty percent of hospital equipment at Al-Shiffa has stopped functioning due to the lack of electricity and spare parts since this more than 20-day blockade started,' said Gaza health minister Basem Naim, adding that 95 basic medications are out of stock."
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