"Today the city of Goma is calm, as it has been since Thursday. There is no news of clashes near the city. Some minor brawls are reported far away from the city, but it seems that both government troops and rebels are all waiting for the outcome of international negotiations." The situation in North Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo) is described to SirEuropa by Edoardo Tagliani, a member of AVSI, the Italian non-profit-making non-governmental organisation for social work established in 1974 and engaged in over 100 projects of cooperation for development in 39 countries in the world. "The UN blue helmets are regularly patrolling the city keeping the situation under control," says the AVSI humanitarian worker, "and the episodes of looting, violence and plundering reported in the city last week are actually decreasing." Nevertheless, the humanitarian situation remains critical." "We have a mission North of Goma which will be back this evening to check the situation of refugees outside Goma, while in the city we are trying, together with our colleagues, to count them," said Mr Tagliani. This is not always a simple task. "Some are gathered in churches, schools and reception centres and it is easy to count them." ” ” ” ” ” “
