Speaking from Kinshasa, Dr. Jorge Castilla, WHO’s Senior Emergency Officer, told journalists at the regular briefing in Geneva there had been a major increase in displacement due to ongoing violence fuelled by armed groups, leaving around 7.4 million in need of health assistance. Disease and displacement Since March 2022, almost...
“So far, the ceasefire between the M23 and the FARDC has held up relatively well and has contributed to some security gains”, said UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee. “The relative calm in Rutshuru territory, for example, allowed more than 45,000 people from the Bishusha group to return home”, she...
An estimated 6.1 million are internally displaced, a 17 per cent increase from October, according to its Displacement Tracking Matrix. IOM said civilians have been killed or forced to flee their homes due to a surge in violence and attacks by armed groups. Deadly attack, intolerable dangers At least 46...
The country has 6.2 million internally displaced people, while more than 1.3 million have become refugees. UNHCR said that Goma, the capital of eastern DRC’s North Kivu province, hosts over 560,000 displaced people in and around the city. Many live in spontaneous sites on the side of the road, in dire...
The region is plagued by violence emanating largely from multiple armed groups, including the rebel M23 force, which has been fighting a major campaign against Government troops, who are backed by the UN mission there known by its French acronym, MONUSCO, as part if its vital protection-of-civilians mandate. Hundreds of...
Aware of the worsening situation involving multiple armed groups clashing with Government forces, and each other, a Security Council delegation visited the DRC earlier this month in solidarity with the people of DRC, and to mobilize the United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian operations in the face of security, electoral and...
Citing humanitarian sources, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said more than 50,000 people displaced from the town of Rutshuru found safety in Kibirizi. Some 55,000 people from Masisisi territory fled to nearby villages, as well as to the regional capital, Goma, and towards Minova in neigbouring South Kivu province. Children on...
Renewed violent clashes between non-state armed groups and government forces have sparked the latest emergency, with 300,000 people forced to flee their homes in North Kivu Province in February alone. According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, another 20,000 fled at the start of the week and nearly 50,000 became displaced from the...
In a statement released by his Spokesperson, António Guterres welcomed the international and regional efforts which took place last week, led by the President of Angola and African Union (AU) Champion for Peace and Reconciliation, João Lourenço, with the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23). Eastern DRC is home to multiple armed groups, including the rebel...
The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris, concluding a 10-day visit to the country on Wednesday, reported a resurgence of attacks by armed groups and the devastating toll on communities alongside the need for action. “The violence must stop,” she said, encouraging authorities to redouble their efforts...
In a statement issued by his Spokesperson, UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack, which left the South African ‘blue helmet’ dead, and another wounded. Emergency landing According to news reports, the severely injured peacekeeper was able to continue flying, and along with the rest of the crew, managed to land...
Millions of Congolese face severe food insecurity, particularly in the northeast, where fighting has uprooted millions of people. As part of his three-day DRC visit, the Pope is expected to meet families displaced by conflict in the east. This staggering number includes more than half a million uprooted from their homes...