Photo: Moussa Demba Diallo/ MONUSCO

Beni, 19 September 2011 – For two days, starting on 13 September 2011, a joint UN team visited the localities of Isale and Bulambo, Nord-Kivu province, Eastern DRC to verify allegations that the villagers had fled their farms following clashes between elements of the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and unidentified armed men. The team made of experts from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and humanitarian agencies went to the area to assess the security conditions ahead of the country's upcoming elections.

The assessment team included representatives of MONUSCO's Civil Affairs, Child Protection and Human Rights divisions, along with their peers from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP).

Based on the information gathered, the team concluded that the recent fighting had, in actual fact, no adverse effects on the activities of the communities in Isale and Bulambo, two localities situated near the boarder between Uganda and Rwanda.

Among those who denied the rumors were humanitarian workers based in the area. One of them working for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said, since 29 August 2011, people had been going about their farming activities normally. He cautioned, however, that the situation was highly volatile as the villagers had been reporting that combatants of the Allied Democratic Forces/National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF/NALU) were roaming around the Virunga National Park from time to time.