NAIROBI, 10 August 2009 (IRIN) – At least 12,000 people have been displaced in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after new attacks by Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army militia (LRA), says the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The Faradje and Dungu areas of Orientale Province, along the border with Southern Sudan, are worst affected, with about 55 attacks reported in July alone, against 57 in May and June. The internally displaced people (IDPs), who are sleeping in public buildings or staying with other families, need medical aid, food and drinking water, UNHCR said, adding that “the humanitarian situation in this remote part of the DRC remains dramatic”. Since September 2007, LRA fighters have killed 1,273 people and abducted more than 2,000, nearly a third of them children. More than 226,000 people have been displaced in Haut-Uélé territory alone and another 42,000 in Bas-Uélé, according to UN estimates. Most of the IDPs are unable to return home due to insecurity. There are at least 21,000 DRC refugees in Southern Sudan, of whom 18,000 have been registered in Ezo, Yambio and Yei. The LRA is also active in Southern Sudan and the Central African Republic.
