Bunia — Thousands of civilians have been displaced in another deadly attack by suspected Lord's Resistance Army rebels in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to local sources.

Residents in the gold-mining village of Sambia, 130km east of Dungu, Orientale Province, put the number of dead at between five and 30, and said almost 10,000 people had fled following the 8 January attack.

"The population of Sambia fled to nearby Tadu and Tora; others sought refuge in the gold mining pits," said Félicien Balani, chairman of the civil society organisation in Haut Uélé district.

Another 10,000 civilians displaced from the town of Niangara have fled to Bangadi because of LRA activity in the area.

"A large number of displaced people [IDPs] also arrived in the diocese of Bondo, in neighbouring Bas Uélé," said Jean Vianey Mbikaba of the Dungu Justice and Peace Commission.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that some 70,000 civilians in Haut Uélé had been displaced since armed forces from DRC, Uganda and Southern Sudan began joint operations against the LRA in northeastern DRC in mid-December 2008.

Humanitarian access to many of these people remains problematic.
"Over 13,000 of these IDPs are in Doruma. According to local sources, they are living in deplorable conditions. There is a risk of an epidemic given that they are living in such close proximity," said Ivo Brandau, head of information for OCHA in DRC.

Drinking water, food and non-food items were needed, he said.

Since 24 December, the Catholic NGO CARITAS in the Dungu-Doruma diocese has said 500 civilians have been killed in different parts of the region.

Source: IRIN