DR Congo's lakeside city Uvira traumatised after months of war
BBC reporting from Uvira, the DR Congo city captured in December by rebels and Rwandan troops, gathers testimony from residents about killings, looted homes and blocked aid corridors. Their accounts echo charges already filed in UN records. Multiple agencies say the violence has displaced tens of thousands.
The BBC, reporting from Uvira, a DR Congo city on the shore of Lake Tanganyika that was captured by rebel fighters and Rwandan troops last December, gathered eyewitness accounts of life under occupation. "They shot my neighbour in the head," one resident said. Multiple neighbourhoods have been looted and most local clinics remain shuttered.
UN reporting documents a rise in civilian deaths since the city fell and notes that aid convoys have been halted on key corridors into the area. Human rights monitors say they are pressing for an independent investigation into the alleged atrocities. Requests for comment from the rebel coalition and the Rwandan government have been declined or left unanswered through several channels.
Security conditions in eastern DR Congo continue to deteriorate despite regional mediation efforts. The UN refugee agency says tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced from Uvira and surrounding districts in the past six months. Aid workers warn that the approach of the rainy season raises the risk of disease outbreaks in informal camps that already lack adequate water and sanitation.
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