Fighting resumed in early July in the region of Rutshuru, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after a brief lull. Rebels from a group known as the March 23, 2009 Movement (M23) advanced towards the towns of Jomba Chengerero, Rwanguba and Bunagana until they took control of the towns of Rutshuru and Kiwanja on July 8.

"Some roads are blocked or unsafe and it is difficult for people to access health facilities. There have been significantly less people coming to the hospital in Rutshuru," says Mickael Le Paih, head of mission in North Kivu, DRC, the province where Rutshuru is located.

MSF staff are very concerned that patients cannot reach the cholera treatment centre in Rwanguba where an outbreak began late May. With the support of an MSF emergency team, 753 patients were treated for cholera at the beginning of July.  However, the fighting over the last few days has prevented staff from being able to provide quality care, says Le Paih.

DRC 2012 © Emily Lynch/MSF
Patients in the cholera treatment centre in Rwanguba. MSF is worried that the ongoing violence in the area could prevent people who are sick from reaching the centre.

MSF calls on those involved in the fighting to ensure humanitarian aid access to the population and to maintain unhindered access to health facilities.

"Civilians are once again bearing the brunt of the violence,” says Le Paih. “One of our employees was shot in the leg, this Sunday, during looting in Kiwanja,"

 "In addition to the fighting, there are regular isolated acts of violence and looting throughout the area. This makes it feel like society is disintegrating," says Jean Reijs, a surgeon working for MSF in Rutshuru General Hospital.

MSF staff continue to offer medical aid in North Kivu and a surgical team is always present in Rutshuru General Hospital, where 280 wounded have been treated in the past eight weeks.

The security situation in Rutshuru in recent weeks, as well as in Rwanda and Uganda, has forced many people to flee their homes and villages and led an already fragile population to live in makeshift conditions.

MSF has been providing neutral and impartial medical assistance to victims of conflict in DRC since 1996. In North Kivu in 2011, MSF treated more than 404,000 patients, including providing care for malnutrition, treating malaria and offering care for violence-related trauma.

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