Goma, 28 May 2012 – Scores of villagers in Walikale territory, Nord Kivu province, fled their homes following repeated attacks from armed elements. Some 2000 villagers found refuge in a primary school in Binyampuli, close to a military base of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). MONUSCO Force Commander, Major General Chander Prakash, and the head of MONUSCO office in Nord Kivu, Hiroute Guebre Sellasie, visited the IDP site on 22 May.

The massive exodus prompted MONUSCO to expand its security perimeter in the region, after the 57 elements of the National Police committed to their protection of the villagers fled the area unable to counterattack.

According to the IDPs "the armed groups fighting across the Walikale forest have become very aggressive". In the process of their attacks, they burn down villages. In the meantime, the local populations continue to arrive at the UN base, some of them after spending several nights in the bush.

Denise Lukwesso/ MONUSCO