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DRC Unrest Sparks Concerns of Regional Refugee Crisis

Geoffrey Mutagoma

   Months of unrelenting militia attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of
   Congo are driving more people from their homes, adding to the millions
   already displaced and threatening to spread insecurity elsewhere in
   Africa's Great Lakes region, observers warn.

   This week, people fleeing the conflict lugged small children and
   possessions as they trekked across the DRC's eastern border into
   Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

   They fault the Mai Mai, a general name for the scores of armed fighting
   groups that have engaged in ethnic clashes for decades. Since May,
   attackers have burned about 160 villages of Banyamulenge ethnic Tutsis,
   killed at least 200 people, stolen cattle that provide their
   livelihoods, and forced more than 200,000 to flee, according to Congo
   Today, a nonprofit group that promotes peace and reconciliation among
   Congolese tribes.

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