HC Deb 26 January 2004 vol 417 cc18-9W
Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the Rwandan Government concerning military activity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [149824]

Mr. Mullin

I have been asked to reply.

We discuss regularly with the Government of Rwanda the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Since the withdrawal of the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) from the DRC in October 2002 we have received several unconfirmed reports from a variety of sources about the continued presence of RDF personnel in eastern DRC. The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) has investigated these reports but has found no evidence to substantiate them. The Rwandan government, with whom we have raised these allegations, have denied they have forces in the DRC.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the number of internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, broken down by region. [149974]

Hilary Benn

The most recent statistical data available from the Relief Web, puts the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at over three million. These IDPs are mainly in eastern DRC.

The breakdown by numbers is as follows:

Democratic Republic of Congo Number
Kinshasa 41,000
Equateur Province 168,000
Kasai Occidental 72,500
Kasai Oriental 72,500
Katanga Province 412,000
Maniema 234,000
North Kivu 1,209,000
South Kivu 413,700
Orientale 791,000