For the past 11 months, fighting between the government army or militias and rebel militias have resumed in Brazzaville, the capital of the Congo Republic. This fighting has generated massive and blind atrocities against civilian populations. The resulting widespread violence perpetrated by the parties at war affects the entire civilian population. Arbitrary executions, mutilations, rapes, and disappearances illustrate the arbitrary character of the violence perpetrated against the civilians.

In December 1998, more than 250,000 people fled the capital because of the fighting, to seek refuge in the tropical forests of the "Pool," a region south of the city. However, they found themselves caught up in the middle of the fighting, de facto hostages of the "Ninjas" ( the rebel militias). Victims of indiscriminate violence, they have had no access to food or medical care, and could not benefit from any exterior help. Furthermore, the ones who survived and managed to come back to Brazzaville are now the victims of indiscriminate attacks from the government army and militias (the "Cobras").

Until now, no party in the conflict has taken significant steps to prevent the violence against civilians. This lack of action clearly shows their indifference to the fate of the civilian population. Given the gravity of the situation, the silence and indifference of the international community is unbearable.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) volunteers have been present in Brazzaville since April 1999, implementing medical and nutritional programs. They have witnessed tens of thousands of starving civilians returning to the capital, exhausted after several months spent wandering in the forest. Doctors Without Borders teams in Congo-Brazzaville are facing an unprecedented nutritional and medical crisis.

A Doctors Without Borders physician -
"The clinical picture is disastrous: burst skin edemas, hypothermia, diarrhea completing the work of dehydration...and the gaze of the exhausted, inert children. The mothers bring them here, as if to say that they have held on right up to the end, right up to this hospital, and now await a miracle. The miracle will unfortunately only happen for one of the children."

Mr. C. - "They wanted to rape my sister. She was only 17. I tried to defend her, so one of the militiamen fired a shot and she fell. They killed her and they made me get into the truck (to return to Brazzaville)."."