At the general hospital in Matadi, the main town of Bas-Congo province, a team from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has provided care to 29 people wounded in clashes between the police and members of Bundu Dia Kongo, a political-religious group contesting the State's authority. However many wounded, some seriously, remain out of reach and urgently in need of medical care.

Since February 28, the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has become the scene of violent clashes. “This is an emergency situation” declared Philippe Havet, MSF Coordinator in Bas-Congo. “There are wounded — by bullet or bladed weapons — requiring emergency medical treatment. For MSF, all wounded should be treated, whatever their political or religious affiliation.”

The inhabitants have been forced to flee or find themselves trapped in the fighting and shooting. “During the clashes in a district of Matadi, on March 8, two children aged 2 and 4 were hit by stray bullets", recounts Bertrand Perrochet, MSF’s Emergency Pool Coordinator. “They were referred to the hospital in Matadi. We managed to care for one of them, but the youngest died during the transfer.” Some people were hit by stray bullets while fleeing the violence, like one young man, 14 years old, who was admitted to the hospital with a serious bullet wound, having spent two weeks hidden in the bush.

In order to reach as many wounded as possible MSF has organised two mobile medical teams in the regions of Kibunzi and Tshela, to the north of Matadi. In two days, the mobile teams saw 30 wounded in the 15 health facilities visited. They distributed medical material and dressings so medical personnel could treat the wounded. Three patients requiring amputation will be referred to the hospital in Matadi.

MSF's mobile teams have seen villages emptied of many of their inhabitants, where many houses have been burnt to the ground.

“It’s difficult to give an overall figure for the number of victims because many of them are still out of reach”, adds Philippe Havet. “Most of the wounded are members of the Bundu Dia Kongo group, who don’t go to health facilities through fear of being found by the forces of law and order; others have nothing to do with the clashes and have fled the violence to hide in the bush. Yet some of them are seriously wounded and their health must be in really poor shape. They need urgent treatment”.

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