GOMA, 11 January 2008 (IRIN) - Thousands of people have continued to flee their homes in strife-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because of sporadic clashes, despite parties to the conflict promising not to fight during a conference on peace, security and development in the Kivus, an official of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
"Following the escalation of armed conflict in December 2007, thousands of civilians have found themselves caught up between the various belligerent forces and forced to flee the combat zones, despite the declared truce and prospects for the Goma peace conference of January 2008," said Gabriel Wolde Saugeron, ICRC's communications coordinator.
"Clashes continued until the last days of 2007," he added.
The peace conference only got off the ground in the eastern town of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, on 9 January, after several days' delay caused by logistical problems and rows over who was entitled to attend.
According to Kemal Saiki, spokesman for the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC), although tensions have been gradually contained and the army has maintained its efforts to stabilise North Kivu, sporadic clashes between combatants have continued.
"Clashes have been seen from time to time, west of Kitchanga, around Mweso and in the vicinity of Rumangabo-Kalengera," said Saiki.
Parties to the conflict in North Kivu include DRC's regular army, insurgent troops loyal to dissident general Laurent Nkunda, remnants of the Rwandan soldiers and militia that carried out much of the killing in that country's 1994 genocide and a variety of Congolese armed groups collectively known as Mai Mai.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled their homes in the province over recent months.
Fighting between Nkunda and Mai Mai forces was reported as recently as 5 January at Kashuga village, 17km northeast of Mweso, according to Saiki. No casualties were reported, but the civilian population took refuge in the nearby forest, he said.
"The populations displaced by the latest round of hostilities are particularly vulnerable, many of them having fled a second or even a third time with their families," said Saugeron.
Some of them had their property looted and others had been subjected to physical violence, including sexual assault, as they fled.
Saugeron said the information from the ground indicated that some of those displaced recently from the Masisi region had found refuge in camps around Goma.
"Many others have fled to the north, seeking refuge in the towns of Nyanzale, Kibirizi and Kanyabayonga, sites near combat zones and therefore difficult to access by humanitarian organisations," he added.
Access problems also affected an unknown number of people who fled to the Kilolriwe and Kitchanga area.
The ICRC estimates that more than 5,000 civilians have crossed the border to seek refuge in Uganda.
A group of more than 2,000 families (10,000 people), who have fled fighting around the town of Sake, is expected to increase, according to ICRC, with many displaced people having arrived in Kalehe in South Kivu.
"Some of the newcomers are grouped in the town of Minova in South Kivu. There are no structures to house those displaced, some of whom lack everything and are experiencing major difficulties in getting their most basic needs met," said Saugeron.
In a related development, insurgents loyal to Nkunda returned to the peace conference on 11 January, a day after they walked out after one of their number was mistaken for a fugitive assassin of the former president Laurent Kabila and briefly arrested.
"We are returning to the [conference] room and we expect to speak because we got assurances for our safety," said Kambasu Ngeve, head of the 10-member delegation representing Nkunda's National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).
The CNDP delegation had demanded security guarantees after one of its members, Major Seraphin Mirindi, was mistaken for Col. Georges Mirindi - one of the late Kabila's bodyguards - who is wanted in connection with the assassination.
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