Background A human catastrophe is unfolding in eastern Zaire where up to a million Rwandan and Burundian refugees and Zairians have fled intensive fighting. These people are without protection, food, shelter or water, and may be joined soon by an even greater number if the war continues.
Women are especially vulnerable to the present violence and insecurity.
Despite the enormity of the tragedy in Eastern Zaire, it is only one aspect of a wider crisis of poverty, suffering and insecurity across Central Africa. There is imminent danger of a wider war unless the regional governments and rebel movements, with decisive assistance from the international community, act to reduce tensions and attack the root causes of the conflict. Along with the International Red Cross, Oxfam has evacuated from Bukavu, South Kivu, as the fighting is preventing any relief work. The lack of humanitarian activity and particularly the absence of the Red Cross leaves the people of this region without any form of protection. No humanitarian agencies have received replies to demands for guarantees of security and access to vulnerable populations.