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20-01-2025
KINSHASA: More than 230,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the year amid escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday described the displacement as “the most alarming” humanitarian crisis in the world.
The resource-rich eastern provinces of North and South Kivu which are home to more than 4.6 million displaced people according to the agency have been mired in conflict for three decades, with the M23 rebel group becoming one of the most powerful armed groups in recent years.
Designated a “terrorist movement” by the DRC government, M23 has seized large areas of eastern DRC since 2021, and earlier this month, took control of the town of Masisi in North Kivu.
Earlier this month, Bertrand Bisimwa, the head of the political wing of M23, told media that the group is fighting a “defensive” war.
“Escalating clashes between non-state armed groups and the Congolese army in North and South Kivu provinces are intensifying one of the world’s most alarming yet under-reported humanitarian crises,” said Eujin Byun, spokesperson for UNHCR speaking to reporters in Geneva.
The conflict, Byun warned, is “marked by widespread human rights violations and massive forced displacement”.
Byun noted that intense fighting in the Masisi and Lubero territories forced approximately 150,000 people to flee their homes between January 1 and 6 alone. Many returned briefly during a lull in fighting on January 4, but were forced to flee once more as new fighting erupted, according to the UN.
In South Kivu’s Fizi territory, the local government has requested international assistance, noting that 84,000 people have sought refuge there.
Byun cautioned that civilians are enduring “indiscriminate bombings and sexual violence,” with children also being targeted.
“Already, dire humanitarian conditions are worsening rapidly, and access to these vulnerable populations is severely restricted by insecurity, roadblocks and the presence of violent armed actors,” Byun added.
UNHCR has stated it is ready to provide assistance as soon as access is restored, but emphasized that more funding is urgently needed.
M23 rebel fighters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have taken control of a strategic town in the east of the Central African country, local politicians say, adding to the armed group’s recent gains in the region.
The group took control of Masisi, a town and local administrative centre about 80km (50 miles) from the major city of Goma, on Saturday, provincial parliament member Alexis Bahunga told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.
“The government will take measures to restore state authority over the entire territory,” he said.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the antigovernment Congo River Alliance (AFC), which includes the March 23 Movement (M23), said rebel forces had reached the centre of Masisi by mid-afternoon on Saturday.
Local sources reported that thousands have been displaced as a result of the fighting and are now seeking shelter in neighboring areas including Goma, which already hosts four million displaced people, sources said.
“The security situation remains very tense in the city of Masisi a day after the rebels managed to capture this strategic area, the second-largest territory [taken] from the government forces,” he said from Goma. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
