"Scorched earth" policy condemned

The head of the Irish development agency GOAL on Wednesday condemned what he called a "scorched earth" policy by the Angolan military in the east of the country, aimed at driving people out of the bush and into the government-held city of Luena. John O'Shea told IRIN from Dublin that people were being forced from their homes in Angola's eastern province of Moxico, "and piled into a town that cannot cope with their numbers." He called on the Irish government to raise the issue as soon as possible with the UN Security Council. "I'm trying to bring attention to a running sore that nobody seems to want to know about," O'Shea said. "I want to put pressure on the Irish government to bring the people of Moxico to the attention of the Security Council." O'Shea's concerns were shared by other humanitarian workers in Angola contacted by IRIN. "The red flag we are raising is that the policy of the government seems to be the cleansing of Moxico province and a rapid resettlement of people in the Luena area without the provision of adequate services like water, sanitation and shelter," one aid worker said. "They are bringing people to Luena without ensuring that there are any safety nets when they arrive." According to a report on the crisis in Luena by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 5,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) arrived in the city from conflict areas in Moxico and other provinces during January. Around 90 percent of the new arrivals were ferried in from the countryside on board government helicopters. The bulk of the new IDPs are sent to Muachimbo, some 12 km from Luena, beyond the government's security checkpoint. Although the camp has capacity for 7,000 people, more than 8,000 have been squeezed into the facility and more are arriving. "Approximately 80 percent of the population at Muachimbo does not have access to adequate shelter or essential non-food items, including clothing, kitchen kits and blankets," the OCHA report said. An aid worker whose organisation is active in Luena, told IRIN that villagers found in areas in Moxico the military want to clear are crowded onto helicopters with little opportunity to bring anything with them. "Overland they would have some chance, but people are arriving [at Luena airport] bewildered." OCHA pointed out that many of the IDPs landing in Luena are in a critical condition. "Large numbers of children are both severely and moderately malnourished" and there are indications that "the nutritional status of the new arrivals has reached emergency levels". The report said that the most common causes of illnesses and death among the IDPs include malnutrition, diarrhoea, malaria, tuberculosis and acute respiratory infections. Angola's UNITA rebel leadership is believed to have taken refuge in Moxico - an early stronghold of the movement - a vast, under populated and remote region bordering Zambia. A long-running government offensive has sort to trap UNITA forces and their guerrilla chief, Jonas Savimbi, active in the rugged territory. Analysts suggest that as part of that operation, the government is attempting to remove the civilian population that could provide supplies and support to UNITA. Provincial authorities estimate that an additional 50,000 IDPs could arrive in Luena in the next five months. "Humanitarian partners are operating at full capacity and do not have sufficient resources to respond to additional influxes of IDPs," the OCHA report warned. An aid worker based in Luanda explained that additional problems were that the government had been slow to identify and de-mine new potential IDP sites within the security perimeter to ease the existing overcrowding at Muachimbo, and the poor condition of the landing strip at Luena airport due to the lack of maintenance. "We can't get in the number of flights needed. For 5,000 displaced you need pretty consistent resupply," she said. During the first week of February, local authorities, UN agencies and NGOs developed a plan of action to address the emergency needs in Luena. The steps include opening a new reception centre close to the airport and a local hospital where there is a therapeutic feeding centre. The humanitarian conditions at Muachimbo are also targeted for improvement, and the identification of a secure alternative IDP site. Repairs to Luena airstrip are also a priority.