The Republic of the Congo is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster after weeks of fighting between government and rebel forces in the Pool region, south of the capital, have left large numbers of people inaccessible to aid workers, according to U.N. representative to the country William Paton.  Paton is urging both sides to allow access.

More than 40,000 people are believed to have been displaced or trapped by two months of conflict in the region without food or medical supplies, Paton said.  The United Nations has 3,000 tons of food and medical kits for 30,000 displaced people, he said, but military authorities have yet to allow access to the area for "security reasons."

Paton said previous U.N. attempts to reach Kindamba, in western Pool, where more than 5,000 people have been stranded, proved unsuccessful, while the government newspaper La Nouvelle Republique says 12 people have died from lack of aid.  "We don't want to make the same mistakes as at the time of the civil war in 1998 and 1999," Paton said.  "We only had access to civilians eight or nine months after the fighting began.  In the meantime, civilians died of illness and hunger" (BBC Online, May 16).

Thousands of displaced people from the Pool region are now in Brazzaville, with more arriving from various locations in Pool.  Many say they are fleeing the region because of fear.  The United Nations is conducting a door-to-door survey in the capital to identify vulnerable displaced people and to determine whether food assistance is required (Integrated Regional Information Networks, May 13).