Kananga, 18 February 2012 – On Wednesday 15 February 2012 in Kananga, the United Nations inter-agency provincial committee, in the province of Kasai Occidental, presented the final report of the joint mission conducted in Lubunga on 13 January 2012 on the assessment of the post-conflict humanitarian situation between two communities in the territory of Dimbelenge. The committee was assisted by provincial government officials and the civil society, with facilitation efforts provided by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) Civil affairs Office.

The conflict in question erupted at the end of December 2011, following a dispute regarding the Elameji forest which the two communities claimed. The incident had caused the death of one senior member of the Congolese National Police (PNC), the displacement of 633 people towards neighbouring Kasaï Oriental, and serious material damage.

During the presentation of the report, a set of recommendations were made to the provincial authorities and to the main humanitarian partners such as MONUSCO, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO) and NGO Caritas. The recommendations included: rehabilitate damaged huts and schools, provide school supplies to students and professors, provide medicines to Lubunga health area, and fight against waterborne diseases and sexually transmitted infections. All these recommendations will be completed by a reconciliation process in order to re-establish the peaceful coexistence relationships that the two communities had before.

Lansana Dabo/ MONUSCO