230,000 displaced since Jan 1 as violence escalates in DRC

Congo: According to the United Nations, more than 230,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of this year due to increasing violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to the French news agency ‘AFP’, the UN refugee agency UNHCR has described displacement as the world’s ‘most dangerous’ humanitarian crisis.

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 embroiled in conflict for three decades, where the M23 rebel group has become one of the most powerful armed groups in recent years.

M23, which is designated a ‘terrorist group’ by the DRC government, has seized large areas of eastern DRC since 2021, and earlier this month took control of the town of Masisi in North Kivu.

The escalating clashes between non-state armed groups and the Congolese army in North and South Kivu provinces are one of the world’s most dangerous but under-reported humanitarian crises, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Eugene Bevan told reporters in Geneva.

He warned that the conflict is a sign of widespread human rights violations and mass forced displacement.

Eugene Bevan pointed out that the two provinces are already home to 4.6 million internally displaced people, making DR Congo one of the world’s largest hosts of internally displaced people.

Earlier this month, Bertrand Bissamoa, the head of the M23’s political wing, said his group was fighting a defensive war.

The UNHCR said intense fighting in the Masisi and Lubero regions had forced some 150,000 people to flee their homes between January 1 and 6 alone.

Many people returned briefly during a lull in fighting on January 4, the UN said but were forced to flee again after renewed fighting broke out.

The local government in Fizi, South Kivu, has appealed for international assistance, saying 84,000 people have taken refuge there.

A UNHCR spokesman warned that civilians were facing ‘indiscriminate shelling and sexual violence,’ and that children were being targeted.

He added that the already dire humanitarian situation was deteriorating rapidly, and access to these vulnerable populations was severely limited by insecurity, obstacles, and the presence of violent armed elements.

The UNHCR said it stood ready to assist as soon as access was restored, but stressed that more funding was urgently needed.

The international organization said that $226 million is needed to provide aid to DR Congo this year, but so far less than 10 percent of this amount has been received.