Home
DR Congo / Republic of the Congo: retrospective of ICRC action in Likouala and Equateur
16-04-2012 Photo gallery
Inter-community violence erupted over fishing rights between the villages of Enyele and Monzaya in Equateur Province, western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2009. Clashes between national armed forces and armed groups forced over 165,000 people to flee their homes. Jonathan Torgovnik, a well-known Getty photographer, recently travelled to the two areas along with the ICRC, capturing the span of humanitarian problems faced by the population, their struggle to overcome them and the activities carried out by the ICRC, in cooperation with two national Red Cross societies on both sides of the border.
-
To reach and respond to the needs of displaced communities affected by the armed violence, the ICRC opened two offices on each side of the Ubangui River in 2010. The first was set in Dongo (DRC) and the second in Impfondo (Republic of the Congo – RC). Both areas are a challenge to access – they are poorly connected by road and are surrounded by both dense forest and vast bodies of water – making it particularly difficult to reach Enyele and Monzaya, the two villages at the heart of the initial dispute.
Launching its operations through a combination of foot, motorbike and canoes, ICRC staff have been able to provide continuous support for the local population. The span of humanitarian activities over the years has included:
- helping rebuild over one thousand homes in DRC
- facilitating the reunification of more than 200 children with their parents or other relatives from whom they had been separated
- assisting with the inhumation of those who lost their lives.
The ICRC has also ensured food security for the displaced communities through both food distributions and productive initiatives with rice and cassava cultivation programmes.
As the humanitarian situation substantially improved during the following years and the crisis in the region stabilized, the ICRC decided to withdraw its permanent presence by closing its office in Impfondo in January 2012 and its office Dongo in March 2012.
-
-
-
-
-
-
The remains, which have been buried since 2009, were exhumed in July 2011, allowing families and relatives to provide dignified funeral ceremonies for their loved ones in their native villages.
-
-
-
-
In 2009, contested fishing rights over ponds triggered the armed violence between the residents of the villages of Enyele and Monzaya, which later spread throughout the province.
-
-
-
-
A team from the ICRC travelled on a pirogue down the Oubangui river on a mission to distribute the cassava cuttings, agricultural equipment and fishing materials to prevent depletion of food reserves. The team also trained the local population on planting techniques. This assistance benefited around 100,000 people in the Likouala district.
-
-
With this distribution, the ICRC aimed to strengthen the economic capacity of the resident population of Likouala, to avoid depletion of commodities such as cassava and fish.
In collaboration with the volunteers of the Congolese Red Cross, the ICRC assisted families in five districts of the country (Btou, Enyele, Liranga, Impfondo Dongou). In addition to fishing materials and agricultural equipment, families received cassava cuttings tolerant to the viral and highly destructive mosaic disease.
-
-
The girl was separated from her parents during the armed violence in 2009. The fate of her parents is still unknown. The ICRC has reunited over 200 children who were separated from their families in 2009.
-
Back to top
