Every time the world seems a little more predictable – and even the most intractable conflicts develop a recognisable if horrifying humdrum – something explodes onto our TV screens to shock and surprise even the most hard-nosed conflict-watchers.
That is what happened when fighting resumed in North Kivu province on October 25 between the Congolese forces (FARDC) and the militia known as the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), led by former General Laurent Nkunda.
Within only a few days, an estimated 50,000 people have fled from North Kivu’s Rutshuru territory, of which between 20,000 to 25,000 are children. Thousands have arrived in the Kibati refugee camp just north of Goma and are squatting in and around the camps.
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