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“Our village was completely burned to the ground,” says Malima Dominique. “We all ran into the forest to hide when we heard the guns and the shooting. We only had the clothes on our back. The children were scared and hungry and the elders were exhausted. We stayed hidden in the forest until it was quiet again, but when a few of us returned to Nko, we found that it had been completely burned to the ground – all our houses and even the village school. We have lost everything we had”.

Cut off from aid by armed clashes and marauding soldiers, refugees who have crossed to the Republic of Congo (ROC) from the northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are risking dangerous travel downriver in increasing numbers in search of food and medicine. Other Congolese trying to flee the battle zone have reportedly been robbed and detained by DRC soldiers.

His yellow eyes have trouble focusing and the lollipop lolls in the corner of his mouth. He is stoned, about 17 years old, and the necklace made of purple thread and the machine gun slung over his back identify him as a Ninja fighter at this checkpoint on the road between Brazzaville and Kinkala in Pool Province in Republic of Congo.