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DR Congo: After Dongo, where to now?
March 31, 2010 | Camilla Olson | Tagged as: Africa, DR Congo

Violent conflict erupted in Equateur province, western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2009, leading to the displacement of 200,000 people and hundreds killed. The conflict has its roots in long-standing economic and political grievances between the Boba and Lobala tribes. Control over the key commercial town of Dongo led to major violence in October 2009, when a Lobala militia attacked the local population, targeting Bobas in particular.
DR Congo Voices: "We just want the fighting to stop"
October 7, 2009 | Jennifer Smith | Tagged as: Africa, DR Congo, Humanitarian Response, Neglected Crises
While military operations against the FDLR rebel group rage on in eastern DR Congo, the voices of people who have been displaced by these actions have been drowned out.  Those at higher levels argue that the operations are a success and that they are the best option available.  However, when Refugees International visited North and South Kivu in July and August, not one displaced person we spoke to saw the operations as a success.
DR Congo Voices: "Liberated" and Displaced
March 10, 2009 | Camilla Olson | Tagged as: Africa, DR Congo, Humanitarian Response, Peacekeeping, Return and Reintegration
In the wake of the violent escalation in fighting in the fall between the CNDP rebel group and the Congolese national army, several camps housing displaced people in North Kivu were destroyed.  When the CNDP captured Rutshuru it went to the surrounding camps and told the displaced people they were now “liberated” and must go home.
CAR: I am blind and I am forced to live in a bush settlement
January 21, 2009 | Mpako Foaleng | Tagged as: Africa, Central African Republic, Humanitarian Response

Civilians continue to bare the brunt of the prevailing insecurity caused in northern Central African Republic. More than a million civilians are still living in fear of violence caused by the absence of state authorities and the presence of rebels and bandits, but some of those displaced have started to return to their villages. The ongoing political dialogue has given some hope to those people in the north who are aware of it.
Somali Voices: Struggle in Yemen
October 3, 2008 | Patrick Duplat | Tagged as: Africa, Somalia, Yemen, Humanitarian Response, Neglected Crises
Refugees International visited Yemen in February 2008 to assess thehumanitarian situation of Somali refugees. In Aden, a former Britishcolonial port located on the mouth of the Red Sea, we went to visit theBasatin neighborhood. Basatin means garden in Arabic, but is anythingbut. It’s a destitute area on the outskirts of Aden where thousands ofSomalis have regrouped in small mud and brick houses with tin roofs.
Ethiopia Voices: Looking for Hope
July 28, 2008 | admin | Tagged as: Africa, Ethiopia - Eritrea, Statelessness
Some 25 kilometers inside Ethiopia’s border with Eritrea, the Shimelba Refugee Camp is home to more than 17,900 individuals who have fled from Eritrea for reasons that include religious persecution, fear of forced military conscription of males from age 18 to 40 that generally includes hard labor, and attempting to rejoin family left behind during the border conflict. The majority of camp residents are young males, many university educated and frustrated about the irreparable loss of the prime years of potential professional careers.