Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoGENEVA / DRC KASAI VIOLENCE
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: GENEVA / DRC KASAI VIOLENCE
TRT: 01:58
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 APRIL 2017, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / RECENT
RECENT, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, flag alley of the Palais des Nations in Geneva
21 APRIL 2017, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“The violence in the Kasai Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has now forced over 11,000 refugees to seek safety in Angola. Border points and villages inside the Southern African nation have seen a sharp increase in refugee arrivals with over 9,000 arriving so far in April”.
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “Refugees have reported fleeing attacks from militia groups, who are targeting police, military officials, and civilians who they believe are supporting or representing the Government. After running away also from fighting between rebels and Government forces, some refugees had to hide in the forest for several days before fleeing to Angola. Refugees are arriving in desperate conditions, without access to clean water, food or shelter”.
6. Close up, journalist
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“The new arrivals are terrified and still fear for their lives ad mentioned they do not have any immediate plans to return home. Some parents have reportedly sent their children across the border, worrying they would be forcibly recruited by the militia if they had stayed in the DRC”.
8. Med shot, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “Angola’s wet season peaks in April, and UNCHR is especially worried about rains which could further complicate living conditions and the health of refugees, especially the most vulnerable such as women, children, elderly and the disabled”.
10. Close up, journalists
11. Wide shot, journalists
Continued fighting between rebels and Government forces in the Greater Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has pushed more and more Congolese to flee in desperation to neighbouring Angola.
Babar Baloch, spokesperson for the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), today (21 Apr) in Geneva said “the violence in the Kasai Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has now forced over 11,000 refugees to seek safety in Angola,” adding that “border points and villages inside the Southern African nation have seen a sharp increase in refugee arrivals with over 9,000 arriving so far in April.”
Violence and instability began in mid-2016 after a traditional leader belonging to a rebel group known as Kamwina Nsapu was killed in fighting with security forces. The crisis then deteriorated further during the first three months of 2017. UN investigators recently confirmed the existence of new mass graves in the province, with a total of 40 having been documented so far.
According to UNHCR, the brutal conflict in Congo’s Kasai region has already displaced more than one million civilians. Baloch said “refugees have reported fleeing attacks from militia groups, who are targeting police, military officials, and civilians who they believe are supporting or representing the Government.” He added that “after running away also from fighting between rebels and Government forces, some refugees had to hide in the forest for several days before fleeing to Angola. Refugees are arriving in desperate conditions, without access to clean water, food or shelter.”
Baloch said “the new arrivals are terrified and still fear for their lives ad mentioned they do not have any immediate plans to return home. Some parents have reportedly sent their children across the border, worrying they would be forcibly recruited by the militia if they had stayed in the DRC."
The crisis has a devastating impact on children, UNICEF warned today. The agency estimates that 2,000 children are being used by the militias in the affected region. At least 300 children have been seriously injured in the violence, and more than 4,000 children have been separated from their families, according to UNICEF.
As camps on the DRC-Angola border are now overcrowded, UNHCR is coordinating with the Government of Angola to erect proper hosting sites for the influx of refugees.
Baloch reported that “Angola’s wet season peaks in April, and UNCHR is especially worried about rains which could further complicate living conditions and the health of refugees, especially the most vulnerable such as women, children, elderly and the disabled.”
Ongoing violence in the DRC, a vast and resource-rich country, comes amid continued uncertainty linked to President Joseph Kabila, who has not stepped down despite having reached the end of his second term in office last December.
