DR Congo – 5,809 Displaced Persons Fleeing Violence In Kwamouth Arrive Kwilu

At least 5, 809 displaced persons fleeing from the clashes between the Tekes and Yakas in the villages of Bisiala and Engwene located in Kwamouth, which took place on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, have arrived in Kwilu province.

Among the displaced persons so far received in Kwilu are several pregnant women and unaccompanied children who have arrived in very precarious conditions, according to Jeremie Bikele, Director of Cabinet to the Kwilu provincial minister of humanitarian affairs.

“We were altogether 16,033 displaced persons with 3,543 in Bandundu town. After clashes in the villages of Bisiala and Engwene, we today have 21,842 displaced persons here. There have been an additional 5,809 persons who have arrived. Most of the arrivals are women. We now have 11,426 women here. We have nine pregnant women. In the Wamba sector, there are 105 women who are pregnant and their present conditions are not good. We are working to ensure that partners who support the unaccompanied children can insert them in families that can house them until their parents are found, then eventually ensure that they go to school,” declared Jeremie Bikele.

Mr. Bikele has called on the central government to come to the assistance of these displaced persons.

“We have families that have welcomed up to seventy-seven persons while others are housing thirty-five and twenty-five displaced persons. We call on the central government to support the persons who are in these situations,” the Director of Cabinet said.

The inter-communal conflict between the Teke and Yaka ethnic groups in Kwamouth territory has already resulted in the deaths of over 100 persons. This is the second violence recorded in Mai-Ndombe province within the past five years after the Yumbi massacres, which left more than 500 people dead in 2018, according to United Nations estimates.