The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is alarmed by a surge of deadly intercommunal violence which has displaced nearly 30,000 people since July in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s western locality of Kwamouth. According to a media briefing Tuesday, clashes started over customary taxes on agricultural land use between the Teke and Yaka communities. More than 142 people have been reportedly killed, including some who were beheaded.
UNHCR says some 27,000 – most of them women and children – have fled the violence and need urgent assistance in Kwilu and Mai Ndombe provinces. Another 2,600 people have sought refuge in the Republic of the Congo after crossing the Congo River in canoes. Many have become separated from family members during their flight.
Heavy rains have made getting to safety more difficult for civilians, and several key routes have become impassable to humanitarian vehicles delivering life-saving assistance. The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Kongo) has negotiated with local leaders and has deployed the country’s army to Kwamouth to restore order. However, the security situation remains tense. While UNHCR and its partner organizations are scaling up support, the UN agency is calling on the international community to support efforts to ease tensions in Kwamouth and alleviate the suffering of those affected by the violence.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, and the situation in the country is one of the most neglected displacement crises globally. For decades, the country has endured multiple, overlapping emergencies driven mainly by conflict and forced displacement. With 6.6 million forcibly displaced people, the DR Congo has more displacement than any other country in Africa. Some 5.6 million people are internally displaced within the country, mainly in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, while 1 million refugees and asylum seekers from DRC are hosted in neighboring countries.
The latest displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo exacerbates an already severely underfunded response to assist the millions of displaced people. As of October, only 40 per cent of the US$225.4 million UNHCR appeal for 2022 has been funded.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to assist and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. The organization is known by its short name the UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR was established on December 14, 1950, by the United Nations General Assembly to provide assistance to refugees resulting from World War II. On January 1, 1951, the organization began its work. Each year, the UN Refugee Agency helps millions of refugees and displaced persons worldwide. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the UN agency maintains offices in 134 countries.
Further information
Full text: Violence erupts in DR Congo’s west as nearly 30,000 flee clashes, UNHCR briefing notes, released October 11, 2022
https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2022/10/634521334/violence-erupts-dr-congos-west-nearly-30000-flee-clashes.html
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