US embassy cable - 04KINSHASA1600

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001600 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PINS, PREL, CG, PRM 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON DRC REFUGEE REPATRIATION AND RECENT 
INTERNAL DISPLACEMENTS 
 
 
1. (U) Summary. UNHCR plans to transfer survivors from the 
Gatumba massacre in Burundi to camps away from the DRC border 
within 10 days. In the meantime, the Burundian government has 
strengthened security in the Gatumba school where these 
refugees are being housed. It is unlikely that Congolese 
refugees will return from Rwanda or Burundi until the 
volatile situation in South Kivu improves. Repatriation of 
Angolan refugees is proceeding well, while expulsion of 
undocumented Congolese miners from Angola has resumed in a 
more orderly fashion. The UN reports that over 120,000 
civilians have been internally displaced in the DRC during 
the past several months as a result of insecurity and clashes 
involving various armed groups and in some instances FARDC 
forces in North and South Kivu, and Orientale Province. End 
Summary. 
 
 
Congolese Refugees from Gatumba to be Moved Inland 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
2. (U) Poloff met with acting UNHCR representative for the 
DRC, Mohamed Dayri, August 23, to discuss the situation of 
Congolese refugees at Gatumba, Burundi. Dayri said that at 
the time of the massacre on August 13, there were 
approximately 800 refugees at the Gatumba camp. Following 
this incident, survivors have been relocated to a nearby 
school in Gatumba pending transfer to refugee camps in Banya, 
near Bujumbura and Rutana, near the Tanzanian border. This 
transfer is expected to take place within the next ten days. 
In the meantime, the Burundian government has increased its 
military presence in Gatumba to improve security. 
 
3. (U) Dayri indicated that at the time of the massacre of 
Congolese refugees there were only nine officers at the camp 
to provide security. He noted that under UN Security Council 
resolutions 1208 and 1296, host countries are responsible for 
providing physical protection to refugees. 
 
Refugees in Rwanda and Burundi Unlikely to Return to DRC Soon 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
4. (U) UNHCR-Kinshasa estimates that there are about 3,000 
Congolese refugees at the Cyangungu Transit center in Rwanda 
who fled fighting in Bukavu during the months of May and 
June. There are also over 30,000 Congolese refugees in 
Burundi who fled during the month of June. Despite recent 
pleas by DRC Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa for the return of 
these refugees, UNHCR thinks that it is unlikely that most 
refugees will return to the DRC from Rwanda and Burundi while 
the situation in South Kivu remains volatile. However, a 
small number of Banyamulenge refugees who fled from Bukavu 
have expressed interest in returning to the predominantly 
Banyamulenge area of Minembwe, South Kivu. 
 
 
Expulsion of Undocumented Congolese Miners from Angola Resumes 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
5. (U) UNHCR indicated that the Angolan government resumed 
expulsion of undocumented Congolese diamond miners July 16. 
Since then, approximately 60,000 people have crossed the 
border into the Congo. However, unlike the 60,000 that were 
expelled between December and May, this new wave of 
expulsions have been conducted in an orderly fashion. UNHCR 
has not received any reports of abuse or harassment. Although 
UNHCR does not normally work with this type of population 
since they are not considered refugees, but undocumented 
immigrants, they have provided humanitarian assistance, 
mainly in the form of transportation. This has been done in 
an effort to avoid negative reactions from the Congolese such 
as those which took place during the earlier expulsions. 
 
 
Repatriation of Angolans in DRC Going Well 
------------------------------------------ 
 
6. (U) According to Dayri, the repatriation of Angolan 
refugees in the DRC is proceeding smoothly. Since 
repatriation started in July, over 6,000 people have been 
repatriated by UNHCR from Bas-Congo and Katanga provinces. 
This repatriation will continue until the rainy season makes 
the roads impassable. UNHCR's goal is to have repatriated 
32,000 Angolans by the end of the year. This will leave 
approximately 13,000 Angolans to be repatriated in 2005. 
Dayri noted that repatriation of Angolans from Bandundu will 
be more difficult since they come from the Angolan provinces 
of Malange and Lunda, where the necessary de-mining has yet 
to be done. 
 
7. (U) Dayri indicated that 215 Angolan urban refugees from 
Kinshasa were successfully repatriated back to Luanda August 
22. UNHCR spent 18 months negotiating this complicated 
repatriation with the Angolan government, which has been 
reluctant to repatriate refugees to the capital. UNHCR hopes 
to repatriate another group of 200 urban refugees to Luanda 
by the end of this year. 
 
Prospects for Sudanese Refugees in DRC 
-------------------------------------- 
 
8. (U) Dayri indicated that UNHCR is hoping to start the 
repatriation of approximately 30,000 Sudanese refugees in 
October or November; 11,000 have already been registered, the 
remainder are scattered in Northern Orientale Province where 
they are engaged in trade and agricultural activities. 
 
120,000 New IDPs in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
9. (U) Poloff met with Noel Tsekouras, humanitarian affairs 
officer with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs (OCHA) August 23, to discuss the current situation of 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the DRC. According to 
Noel, as of August 2004, there are an estimated 2,329,000 
IDPs in the country. OCHA also estimates that approximately 
725,000 IDPs have returned to their areas of original 
displacement over the past several months. The largest areas 
of IDPs remain North Kivu with 785,000, Province Orientale 
with 455,000, Katanga with 365,000 and South Kivu with 
254,000. 
 
10. (U) According to OCHA, the most significant new 
displacements of civilians in the past few months have taken 
place in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri. In North Kivu, 
OCHA estimates that 35,000-55,000 people were displaced 
during the preceding eight months, primarily in the areas of 
Ruthsuru, Masisi and Walikale. Most of this displacement has 
been due to clashes involving Rwandan Hutu armed groups 
(Interhamwe-FDLR) and FARDC's 8th military region. In South 
Kivu, approximately 30,000 people were displaced south of 
Kalehe during the month of July. An additional 6,000 were 
displaced north of this area during the same period. Most of 
these displacements were a result of fear of clashes between 
dissident RCD-G General Laurent Nkunda and FARDC troops. OCHA 
coordinated humanitarian assistance to both groups. In 
Province Orientale, Ituri District, approximately 30,000 
people were displaced in Mahagi following fighting between 
the Nationalist Integrationist Front (FNI) and the Popular 
Armed Forces of the Congo (FAPC) militias. Due to security 
concerns and inaccessible terrain, OCHA has relied on NGOs 
already in the area to provide assistance to IDPs in North 
Kivu and Orientale Province. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
11. (U) UNHCR has been successfully repatriating Angolan 
refugees over the past several weeks, while at the same time 
assisting undocumented Congolese expelled from Angola. 
UNHCR's constructive engagement with DRC and Angolan 
authorities has lessened tensions and resulted in a more 
humane process for the return of both populations. The 
situation of Congolese refugees in Rwanda and Burundi, on the 
other hand, is much more complex. UNHCR-Kinshasa will have to 
work closely with offices in Kigali and Bujumbura to ensure 
the protection of these refugees until conditions are 
appropriate for repatriation and to lessen their possible 
political manipulation by regional actors. 
 
12. (U) Instability in the east over the past several months 
has resulted in new IDPs in the Kivus and Ituri. UN agencies 
and NGOs have been hard pressed to provide humanitarian 
assistance to the majority of these people due to insecurity 
and inaccessible of areas of displacement. New IDP movements 
only complicate an already dire humanitarian situation in the 
east. UN agencies, NGOs and the GDRC should coordinate 
efforts to provide emergency assistance and as the security 
situation in areas of displacement improves, should encourage 
and assist IDPs to return to their areas of origin. To 
address the IDP situation in the longer term it will be 
necessary to demobilize armed groups, create a unified 
national army, and re-establish state authority in the east. 
MEECE