AID workers sweated to dig latrines and avert disaster at the Mugunga camp in eastern Zaire yesterday. Crammed with about 400,000 fugitives from war, it has become the world's biggest refugee camp.
Aid officials said the Rwandan Hutu refugees faced twin threats of disease and food shortages, as local supplies have been disrupted by fighting between Zairean troops and Tutsi rebels.
Fruit and vegetable supplies are dwindling and food prices in the region are skyrocketing, to the fury of local Zairean residents.
"People are complaining today they cannot afford to buy bread any more," said Mr Panos Moumtzis, of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the east Zaire city of Goma, close to the Mugunga camp.
Zaire announced on Monday night it was suspending all commercial air links to the region to try to contain ethnic warfare.
"The situation in eastern Zaire is now desperate. UNHCR is cut off from all but 400,000 of the one million refugees," Ms Ruth Marshall told a Geneva briefing at UNHCR headquarters.
"The terrain is rock. You cannot put a nail down," said Mr Moumtzis. "It is difficult to dig latrines and even put up shelters. If the rain starts there is a great risk of epidemics, which is why we are increasing sanitation and water today. We have 40 latrine teams with five to 10 people in each digging latrines."
Lots of refugees have bleeding feet, he said, after walking on rocky paths to reach the camp.