Women collect water at a camp for displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The resurgence of violence in the region has displaced over 800,000 people since March last year, including towards the provinces of South Kivu and Ituri.
Survivors
Conditions are dire for those arriving at spontaneous or organized sites, which the UN refugee agency said were now buckling under the strain. An M23 ceasefire deal brokered last week and due to start on Tuesday, has failed to materialize.
Lacking resources
“UNHCR teams on the ground reported horrifying testimonies of human rights violations in affected areas, especially in Rutshuru and Masisi territories, including arbitrary killings, kidnappings, extortion and rapes,” the UNHCR spokesperson continued. © UNHCR/Hélène Caux
More than 130 armed groups operate at the border between DR Congo and Rwanda, including the M23 militia, which has in the past targeted Government forces and the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO.
“UNHCR strongly reiterates its call on all actors in eastern DRC to stop the violence which is taking an enormous toll on the civilian population,” the UN agency said in a statement.
Stop the fighting
© UNHCR/Hélène Caux Humanitarians have continued to warn that despite “all efforts” to provide protection and assistance to those displaced close to Goma, Nord Kivu’s provincial capital, relief access remains complicated as major routes have frequently been rendered inaccessible because of ongoing conflict. “Civilians continue to pay the heavy and bloody price of conflict, including women and children who barely escaped the violence and are now sleeping out in the open, in spontaneous or organized sites, exhausted and traumatised,” said UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh.
