Aid agencies say recent fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo has led to the widespread separation of family members. More than 250,000 people are believed to have been displaced since fighting resumed between rebels and government forces in August. Derek Kilner has more from VOA's East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.
A demonstrator carries a flower tribute during a silent walk through London to the Rwandan embassy as people mark the human tragedy in the Congo, 21 Nov 2008
Humanitarian organizations, including Save the Children and Oxfam, say more than half the civilians displaced by recent fighting in eastern Congo may have lost contact with family members.
Save the Children emergency officer George Graham spoke to VOA from Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in Eastern DRC.
"The survey was conducted by four British aid agencies who went into the camps around Goma. We interviewed almost 300 people and found that of those people, two thirds had lost a family member, whether that be a parent or a husband or a wife, or indeed a child," said Graham. "About a quarter of the people we surveyed had lost children."
With its limited sample size, the survey does not provide conclusive figures, but the organization says it provides an indication of the scale of the problem.
"The villages have been attacked completely by surprise. Families have found themselves in the middle of the night having to gather their possessions, gather all their family members together and flee to safety," he added. "And in the chaos of this situation, we are finding numerous reports of families ending up separated."
The aid agency CARE has also said that up to one-fifth of displaced families around Goma are headed by single mothers.
Sporadic fighting has plagued eastern Congo since the official end of the country's civil war in 2003, but the violence has intensified since late August. The heaviest clashes have pitted the rebel National Congress for Defense of the People, led by Laurent Nkunda, against government forces. But several other armed groups have been involved in attacks.
The U.N. Security Council last week approved the deployment of an additional 3,000 troops for the peacekeeping mission in the Congo, known by the French acronym, MONUC. With 17,000 troops it is the world's largest peacekeeping mission, but its forces are spread across a large area and have had difficulty preventing clashes.
Government troops stopped a U.N. convoy Sunday near the Kibati refugee camp outside Goma and removed 23 people being transported by the United Nations. The men were taken despite the apparent objection of the peacekeepers. U.N. officials say they included members of the Mai Mai militia, who have traditionally been allied with the government, but government soldiers accused the men of being rebels.
After the incident, civilians threw stones at the U.N. convoy, the latest manifestation of local frustration with the operation. But for the most part, a tentative ceasefire has been holding in the region.
Last week, Nkunda's forces pulled back from front lines near the town of Kanyabayonga, north of Goma. MONUC military spokesman Jean-Paul Dietrich says that so far the peacekeepers have encountered few problems.
"The situation has been calm for about a week in this region. There was some attempt of incursion on Thursday, when a group of about 70 Mai Mai tried to enter Rwindi, which was left by CNDP on Tuesday evening," said Dietrich. "But we finally convinced them not to continue towards Kiwanja, I think this was their plan, and they returned from where they came."
Nkunda says he is protecting the region's ethnic Tutsi community from Rwandan Hutu militia operating in the area, and has demanded direct negotiations with the Congolese government. The government maintains negotiations must involve all of the numerous armed groups operating in the country's east.
参考中文翻译：
人道主义组织，包括儿童救济委员会和牛津饥荒救济委员会说，由于最近刚果东部的冲突被移置的居民有一半以上的人与家人失去联系。
儿童紧急救助委员会的官员George Graham 在刚果共和国东部的北基伍省首府戈马对VOA记者说。
“调查是由四个英国救助机构进行的，他们到了戈马周边的难民营。我们采访了大约300人，其中，三分之二的人失去了家人，或者父亲母亲，或者丈夫妻子，或者孩子，”Graham说。“我们调查的人中大约有四分之一的人失去了孩子。”
由于样本数有限，该调查并没有提供结论性的数字，但是该组织说他们提供了能够衡量该问题规模的指标。
“这些村庄完全是受到突然袭击。那些家庭被袭击的时候是在深夜，必须收集他们的财产，集合所有的家人，逃离到安全地区，”他补充说。
“在这种混乱的形势下，我们接到无数的报告说，很多家庭妻离子散。”
CARE救助站也报道说 ，高达五分之一的家庭只剩下单身妈妈主持家庭。
自从2003年官方内战结束以来，刚果东部不时有零散的冲突发生，但是自从去年八月份以来，暴力事件逐渐加剧。最严重的一次冲突打击了与政府军为敌的反叛军NCDP，但是还有其他武装势力参与袭击。
联合国安理会上周通过了向刚果新增3000军队进行维和的任务，该任务的法语缩写为MONUC。该任务有17，000军队部署，是世界上最大的维和任务，但是武装力量分散范围过大，不能有效组织武装冲突。
政府军周日阻止了戈马城外Kibati难民营联合国军队的护卫，转移了由联合国运送的23个人。虽然维和人员明显反对，但是这些人还是被带走。联合国官员说这些人中包括Mai Mai 义勇军，他们过去和政府军联盟，但是现在政府却指责他们是叛徒。
该事件过后，当地平民向联合国护卫军扔石头示威宣泄沮丧情绪。但是该地区大部分地区已经暂时停火。
上周，卢旺达军队从戈马北部的Kanyabayong前线撤回。MONUC军队发言人Jean-Paul Dietrich 说迄今为止，维和部队还没有遇到什么问题。
“该地区的局势大约稳定了一个星期。只是周四，被CNDP于周二晚上遗弃的大约70名Mai Mai 义勇军企图入侵，”Dietrich说。“但是我们最终确定他们不再接近Kiwanja，我想这是他们的计划，他们会回到原来的位置。”
Nkunda说他正在保护该地区的种族图西人社区免于卢旺达胡图军队的侵犯，要求与刚果政府进行直接谈判。政府的谈判必须包括该国东部所有的武装力量。
注解：
CNDP (National Congress in Defense of the People)是与东部北基伍地区(N. Kivu) 引起争端的一方，其领导人为洛朗‧恩孔達 (Laurent Nkunda)。
相关背景新闻：
联合国对刚果民主共和国东部暴力升级表示关切
来源：中国新闻网2008年10月30日
中新网10月30日电 据联合国网站报道，潘基文秘书长星期三（29日）发表声明，对刚果民主共和国东部北基伍省过去24小时中暴力升级表示关切。他指出，冲突的加剧和扩大正导致一场毁灭性的人道主义危机，并且可能对整个区域造成恶劣影响。
潘基文呼吁各方立即停止敌对行动并尊重国际人道主义法。他对交战方蓄意将平民作为攻击目标或人体盾牌的做法深感痛惜。
秘书长呼吁有能力影响实地局势的各方力量尽一切可能重新实现停火、防止平民继续遭受苦难，他还强调必须结束北基伍省首府戈马及周边地区面临的所有威胁，停止针对联合国职员和人道救援工作者的袭击，以便处于困境的民众能够获得援助。潘基文对有报道称刚果民主共和国和卢旺达两国交界地区发生重武器交火尤其感到关注，并对联合国维和人员在基布姆巴附近遭到蓄意攻击表示痛惜。
他同时对刚果民主共和国武装部队部分成员缺乏纪律约束、出现抢掠行为感到不安，并呼吁刚果民主共和国政府尽一切努力控制其军队，阻止军队袭击联合国人员。
潘基文当天还在菲律宾马尼拉举行的记者会上表示，他正在与刚果民主共和国和卢旺达两国领导人以及非洲和欧洲领导人就北基伍省局势保持密切磋商，并已派遣两名高级顾问分别前往刚果民主共和国和卢旺达与两国总统会谈。
安理会本月轮值主席、中国常驻联合国大使张业遂星期三也就刚果民主共和国东部局势发表了新闻谈话。他指出，安理会成员强烈谴责刚果民主共和国东部的敌对行动，敦促各方立即停火并脱离接触，并重申支持潘基文秘书长及联合国特派团维护该国和平的努力。
北基伍省首府戈马的局势继续保持紧张。联合国难民署星期三表示，此前暂时居住在戈马以北10公里处一个流离失所者营地的4万5000名平民当天涌入戈马，其中包括一天前刚刚来到这个营地躲避的3万名流离失所者。此外，还有1000多人逃往邻国乌干达。
世界粮食计划署表示，受安全局势限制，当天有15辆卡车装载的粮食无法运送。刚果民主共和国东部地区每个月需要1万吨粮食援助，但粮食署的供应不断吃紧，目前的存粮只有4000吨。
