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In Pictures: DR Congo crisis

Conflict has returned to the country’s troubled North Kivu province, displacing more than 40,000 people.

On April 27, 2012, Congolese refugees began flowing across the Rwandan border, arriving at the Nkamira transit camp around 20km from the border town of Gisenyi.
By Phil Moore
Published On 20 May 2012

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Bunagana, DR Congo – Following three years of relative peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu province, conflict has returned, forcing people out of their homes once more. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had not registered a single refugee in Rwanda since early 2009. But since April 27 of this year, more than 8,000 people have fled to the burgeoning Nkamira transit camp just over the border in Rwanda.

The Congolese army has been engaged in battles with mutinous soldiers, former members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), a rebel group that had been incorporated into the army in March 2009. The group’s leader at that time – Bosco Ntaganda, who had been indicted by the International Criminal Court – was promoted to general in the army and was seen as an important figurehead for peace in the region.

More than 40,000 people are now displaced, including more than 8,000 in Rwanda and an estimated 10,000 in Uganda, following heavy fighting in the border town of Bunagana on the Congolese-Ugandan border.

As the conflict ebbs and flows around North Kivu, some return home as others are displaced, all living beside a strong military presence.

More than 8,000 people have fled into Rwanda since April 27, fleeing clashes between the Congolese armed forces and mutinous ex-CNDP soldiers. UNHCR had not registered a single Congolese refugee in Rwanda since early 2009.
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The camp, originally intended as a transit camp for Rwandan returnees on their way home, has transformed into a burgeoning refugee camp.
Just three weeks ago, no one was permanently residing in the camp. Authorities struggled to provide shelter for the increasing numbers of Congolese refugees arriving over the border.
The refugees arrive with very little and rely on humanitarian aid to survive in the cold Rwandan hills.
Many of those arriving in Rwanda have fled their homes in the hills of Masisi district, traditionally a CNDP heartland. Mushaki experienced particularly heavy fighting as government forces ousted the mutineers.
For those remaining in many towns in Masisi, such as Kitshanga, the streets are now populated by government forces, who have driven the mutineers into the Virunga National Park.
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By May 7, the CNDP had reached the Rwandan borderlands, forcing inhabitants of Kibumba to walk the 17km towards the provincial capital of Goma, under the shadow of the Nyangoro volcano.
After several hours of walking, some of the displaced from Kibumba settled for the night at a school in Kibati on Goma(***)s outskirts, with insufficient shelter and little food.
Families pooled whatever food they brought with them, cooking them on wood fires outside the school, unsure of when they could return to their homes.
The same day, under the protection of the Congolese Armed Forces, North Kivu(***)s governor, Julien Paluku, visited towns and villages in Masisi to encourage people to return to their homes.
Kitshanga(***)s town centre was filled with people listening to Governor Paluku saying that the army had defeated the rebels in the area. Paluku also introduced the new commander, replacing a predecessor who had defected.
The army claimed to have captured fifteen tons of arms "abandoned" by the rebels in Masisi as they fled into the Virunga National Park, presenting a sample to members of the press.
By May 11, the fighting moved to the hills around Bunagana in Rutshuru district. The following day, many inhabitants of the area fled across the border into Uganda.
For those that remain in the country, many, such as Juvenal Sabonipa, rely on the generosity of host families. Mr Sabonipa and his family are staying with Alfonse Katebera and his wife on Goma(***)s outskirts, after fleeing their home in Kibumba.
The Congolese Armed Forces have been conducting operations in the hills of North Kivu near the town of Bunagana. Following an operation against M23 rebels, this truck moved positions during a heavy rainstorm.
Others across the border in Rwanda wait in the Nkamira camp, waiting to see whether this rebellion will endure, or if they can return to their homes.
Congolese Armed Forces soldiers move positions following an attack on an M23 rebel position in the hills of North Kivu, nestled between the Congolese borders with Rwanda and Uganda, near the town of Bunagana.