MSF team in Dungu after attacks on town

Democratic Republic of Congo | 07 November 2008

Three days after rebels of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) attacked the town of Dungo, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team made up of a doctor, a logistician, and the head of emergencies in Ituri and Haut Uélé came to assess the consequences of the attack on the local population and the nature and severity of people’s needs. The team also sought to verify if the security conditions could allow MSF to return rapidly to site in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

All organizations present in Dungu, including MSF, decided to evacuate the town on Nov. 1 during the attack by the LRA rebels. Confusion at the time was so great that residents and humanitarian workers alike felt any guarantee of safety was lost.

The deserted town

Upon the arrival of the single-engine plane on the small, grass-covered landing strip in the southern part of the town, the team note that the area was almost entirely empty.

“Some residents come back during the day to their homes to collect some of their belongings. But at night, everyone hides in the forests south of the town for fear of the rebels,” explains the local head of the company managing the landing strip. The violent reputation of Ugandan ex-rebels precedes them everywhere.

With a trembling voice, a young man tells a story of one terrible night: “About 20 of us had come together in our house thinking that the doors were sturdy enough. Then we heard gunshots close by and armed men arrived, beating down the door to get in. I preferred to open the door. There were three of them, one of them covered with ammunition belts for machine guns, the other carrying a rocket-launcher tube. They did not say a word. Fortunately, the FARDC [Armed Forces of Democratic Republic of Congo] arrived and they ran away.” At the first signs of dawn, the whole group decided to cross the bridge on the Kibali River and head south, meeting up with thousands of other panicked town-dwellers. The town of Dungu and its immediate surroundings count no less than 50,000 residents during a normal period.

The visit to the regional hospital of Dungu reflects the general attitude of the town’s residents. It is to this day still almost entirely deserted. Only two nurses, one pharmacist, and one doctor remain out of the entire staff. The only nurse present at the time of our visit refuses to be afraid. “It is too late for that,” she says with irritation. “It is done now. They are gone