Over 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Rutshuru Territory in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North-Kivu province, since renewed fighting between the Congolese army and the “Mouvement du 23 mars” (M23) armed group broke out on 20 October, the United Nations report this week. While at least 188,000 men, women and children are now internally displaced, more than 16,500 others have sought refuge in Uganda.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), - since hostilities began in March 2022 - more than 253,0000 people have now been forced to flee in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). Humanitarian organizations on the ground estimate that some 237,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in North-Kivu province are in need of assistance, the majority of whom are in Nyiragongo territory (110,000 IDPs), some in Rutshuru (nearly 85,000 IDPs) and Lubero (approximately 42,000 IDPs). About half of these displaced persons have found refuge with host families, while the rest are staying in collective sites and centers like churches, schools, stadiums, and other places.
OCHA says violence is severely hampering the access of humanitarian organizations in Rutshuru, which are assisting displaced people in Nyiragongo Territory, south of Rutshuru. Given the scale of needs, an increased presence of humanitarian organizations will be required, including in Kanyabayonga, another main area of displacement, in Lubero territory. Urgent needs include access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), essential household items, shelter, food, medicine and health services and protection. According to OCHA, population movements remain dynamic and may evolve according to the security context.
In a related development, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned this week that thousands of children fleeing fighting in the eastern DRC are at grave risk in overcrowded and unsanitary camps for IDPs. As many people have fled to hastily formed and desperately overcrowded makeshift camps, IDPs are living in flimsy shelters which do not protect them from frequent rainstorms.
According to UNICEF, shortages of clean water are placing many IDPs at risk of a cholera epidemic. Other displaced do not have tarpaulins and are forced to sleep in the open. There are also many children who have been separated from their families or caregivers during the chaos of recent displacements. The UN agency fears more unaccompanied children associated with the recent fighting will materialize as the crisis unfolds.
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 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) coordinates the work of non-governmental organizations and other national and international actors in humanitarian emergencies. It is the principal international player on humanitarian assistance issues.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is the agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. Created in 1946, UNICEF is today one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world. The UN agency works in over 190 countries and territories to protect children’s rights.
Further information
Full text: Democratic Republic of the Congo North-Kivu, Displacement trends: Crisis affecting Rutshuru - Nyiragongo – Lubero, OCHA Information Brief, released November 8, 2022
https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/20221108_v100_rutshuru_nyiragongo_factsheet_en.pdf
Full text: UNICEF: Mass displacements in eastern DRC pose a deadly threat to children and young people, press release by UNICEF, published November 7, 2022
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-mass-displacements-eastern-drc-pose-deadly-threat-children-and-young-people
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