GENEVA — Ugandan rebels launched an "unprecedented" 55 attacks in July in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, forcing some 12,500 civilians to flee their homes, the UNHCR said Friday.
The "rampage" by the Lord's Resistance Army was targeted at the Faradje area in the Province Orientale, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the country's border with South Sudan and Uganda, said the UN refugee agency.
"The humanitarian situation in this remote part of the DRC remains dramatic. Most of the internally displaced people are unable to return home because of the ongoing assaults," said agency spokesman Andrej Mahecic.
The insecurity is hindering large scale deliveries of basic aid supplies such as food, blankets, sleeping mats and cooking sets.
As a result, the agency has only been able to reach about 45 percent of the displaced.
The Ugandan rebels have been intensifying their attacks, with 23 in May and 34 recorded in June.
The mounting violence has also led to an increase in Congolese civilians seeking refuge in neighbouring Sudan.
"Out of 21,000 refugees in South Sudan, 16,500 arrived since last November from the Province Orientale, mostly fleeing LRA attacks in Faradje territory," it said.
Between the end of 2008 and March 2009, the DR Congo, Ugandan and South Sudanese armies launched a major joint military operation against the LRA, but did not succeed in neutralising the rebel force, which has long battled in north Uganda and retreated across the DRC border.
The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo in July said it had reinforced its military strength to fight the Ugandan rebels.
Copyright © 2009 AFP.
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