200810312236 | Humanitarian Catastrophe unfolds in Goma DRC Congo

Humanitarian Catastrophe unfolds in Goma DRC Congo

The humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Democratic Republic of Congo was unfortunately detracting from the good progress made in reconstruction and development, South African Department of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. Briefing the media in Pretoria, director-general Ayanda Ntsaluba said the huge numbers of people displaced by the violence which erupted over the weekend "obviously precipitated" a significant humanitarian problem.

"I think the worst of our fears have been borne out by the events of the past few days. "We believe that there is a humanitarian crisis... unfolding in the eastern part of the DRC."
He said South Africa was also concerned that the situation had opened up old wounds in the relationship between the DRC and Rwanda.

"The sooner we have high level re-engagement between the leaders of Rwanda and the leaders of the DRC the better will be the prospects of us arriving at a solution that holds."
Ntsaluba said however that the country was encouraged by the dialogue between the DRC foreign affairs minister and his counterpart in Rwanda.

"We know that the solutions to the problems of the eastern DRC are not easy, if they were easy I'm sure we would have found them by now," he said, adding that the situation had layers of complexities and sensitivities.

"We believe that for as long as the eastern situation is not resolved, it detracts from what essentially is very, very good progress that has been registered in the DRC," he said.