BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) -- Recent fighting in the Republic of Congo has put tens of thousands of refugees at risk of hunger and disease, United Nations aid officials said Tuesday.
The U.N. World Food Program said in a statement that at least 20,000 refugees had poured into the capital of Brazzaville while many others had fled south to neighboring Congo, the former Zaire.Many of the refugees are without food, money or personal possessions. The threat of contagious disease has overwhelmed Republic of Congo's shattered health system.
"Many people who made the long and arduous trek to Brazzaville just a few days ago are once again running for their lives," said Rigobert Oura, a WFP official in Brazzaville. "If people continue to move, it will be extremely difficult for aid agencies to reach them."
Although the U.N. agency had a stock of 3,000 tons of food in both Congos, aid officials were concerned of the possibility of a large-scale emergency that would require massive support from the international community.
After weekend clashes between government forces and a rebel militia, relative calm was restored Monday to the Republic of Congo's already-battered capital of Brazzaville.
Thousands of people fled from the city's southern outskirts to avoid fighting that left as many as 110 people dead. Although the hostilities tapered off by Sunday and the area remained quiet Monday, few people ventured home.
The fighting has been between the forces of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso and the outlawed "Ninja" militia of former Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas.
The hostilities are a reversal of the civil war that ravaged Brazzaville a year ago when Sassou-Nguesso, backed by his "Cobra" militia, took power from Pascal Lissouba, a sometime ally of Kolelas.
Sassou-Nguesso, the Republic of Congo's longtime Marxist dictator who is now advocating capitalist reform, was ousted in the country's first multi-party elections in 1992.
Neighboring Congo is also grappling with a rebellion that has drawn in up to six other African countries.