Photo Credit: Refugees International
11/17/2007

After a successful democratic election in 2006 violence has re-erupted in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and security conditions continue to deteriorate, particularly in the volatile province of North Kivu, where this girl lives. Violent confrontations between the Congolese military -- the FARDC -- and the armed group led by dissident General Laurent Nkunda, claiming to fight on behalf of the Tutsi minority in the east, have precipitated new waves of internal displacement and have caused a sharpening of ethnic tensions throughout the region. Meanwhile, the security vacuum and persistent lack of a functioning justice sector has meant that rape, looting, and violence against civilians continue to go unpunished.

Refugees International is urging the UN Security Council to ensure that civilian protection remains the first priority of MONUC, the UN peacekeeping force deployed to the country.