20 Nov 2012

DR CONGO / GOMA FIGHTING

Humanitarian workers from the UN and NGOs, along with their families, took shelter in the World Food Programme’s compound in Goma today as eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s main city was attacked by ‘M23′ rebels. WFP

Posted at: November 20, 2012 3:22 pm

Duration: 01:49

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: DR CONGO / GOMA FIGHTING
TRT: 1.49
SOURCE: WFP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 20 NOVEMBER 2012, GOMA, NORTH KIVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / 13-18 NOVEMBER 2012, KIVUS REGION, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO / 19 NOVEMBER 2012, NAIROBI, KENYA

SHOTLIST

20 NOVEMBER 2012, WFP COMPOUND GOMA, NORTH KIVU, DRC

1. Wide shot, WFP Compound in Goma
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfram Herfurth, World Food Programme (WFP) Goma:
"Today we are really stuck here, as you hear we have gunfire all around us, you know, but as soon as this fire will be finished we will continue to do our needs assessment and serve the people around us, there are a lot of suffering and displaced people relocating from sites, so we will continue to do our job as humanitarian."

13 NOVEMBER 2012, MUGUNGA IDP CAMP, NEAR GOMA, DRC

3. Wide shot, person walking by 
4. Various shots, families washing clothes at camp
5. Med shot, children by small trees, makeshift garden
6.  Various shots, family by tent with young boy eating

14 NOVEMBER 2012, MARKET, MINOVA, NORTH KIVU, DRC

4. Wide shot, market
5. Med shot, woman unloading bag of food on her back

19 NOVEMBER 2012, NAIROBI, KENYA

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Challis McDonough, spokesperson, WFP:
"Our concern is that with the continued conflict and the intensification of the conflict many more people will be displaced and some of the people we've already being assisting will have to move again and that's going to make the humanitarian situation, that much more challenging to respond to."

18 NOVEMBER 2012, RAMBIRA, SOUTH KIVU, DRC

7. Close up, grains
8. Wide shot, people queuing for food bags
9. Med shot, men handling bags of food
10. Med shot, woman carrying bag of food
11. Wide shot, men and women around piled food bags

STORYLINE:

Humanitarian workers from the United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organizations, along with their families, took shelter in the World Food Programme (WFP) compound in Goma as 'M23' rebels attacked the city today (20 November).

The compound is designated by the UN as one of the security concentration points for humanitarian staff in the town and is protected by soldiers from the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO.

SOUNDBITE (English) Wolfram Herfurth, World Food Programme (WFP) Goma:
"Today we are really stuck here, as you hear we have gunfire all around us, you know, but as soon as this fire will be finished we will continue to do our needs assessment and serve the people around us, there are a lot of suffering and displaced people relocating from sites, so we will continue to do our job as humanitarian."

The M23 – composed of soldiers who mutinied from the DRC national army in April – launched new attacks over the weekend in North Kivu province, of which Goma is the capital, uprooting some 60,0000 civilians and prompting MONUSCO to deploy attack helicopters in aid of the national army, known by the French acronym FARDC.

A UN spokesman told a news briefing in New York today that "reports indicate that the M23 has wounded civilians, continued abductions of children and women, destroyed and looted property, and intimidated journalists and those who have attempted to resist their control."

The World Food Programme's (WFP) operation for approximately 447,000 internally displaced people and host families in North Kivu province were temporarily suspended, due to the current security situation. WFP intends to resume its programs as soon as possible.

New movements are hard to quantify at this time, but due to the recent fighting an estimated 60,000 people have moved from Kibati.

SOUNDBITE (English) Challis McDonough, spokesperson, WFP:
"Our concern is that with the continued conflict and the intensification of the conflict many more people will be displaced and some of the people we've already being assisting will have to move again and that's going to make the humanitarian situation, that much more challenging to respond to."

School meals and nutrition program are ongoing in areas not affected by fighting.

In South Kivu, WFP food assistance is continuing to 212,500 IDPs and host families.

WFP called on the international community to support the efforts and the work of all humanitarian organizations to assist them.

According to recent figures from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there are about 2.4 million displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In November, under its regular distribution cycle, WFP plans to assist about 1 million displaced people and host families in eastern DRC – this includes general food distribution, nutrition programs for young children and mothers and school meals.