The United Nations report that fighting continues between the Congolese army and the “Mouvement du 23 mars” (M23) rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu Province. A United Nations spokesman also said Monday that at least 32 civilians have been killed in two separate attacks by other rebel groups in neighboring Ituri province.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press conference on Monday that in Ituri Province the armed group CODECO killed at least 20 civilians Sunday and burnt several houses. The armed group reportedly also damaged medical infrastructure in a string of attacks against villages in Djugu territory.
Separately another armed group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), attacked two villages in Irumu territory, which resulted in at least 12 civilians killed. Both incidents occurred in the eastern Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo, DRC).
Meanwhile fighting continued between the the Armed Forces of the DR Congo (FARDC) and the M23 rebel group, including around the Sake-Kitchanga axis and within the Virunga National Park in eastern North Kivu Province, according to the UN spokesman. Last Friday, the M23 rebels reportedly took control of Bukombo, 13 kilometers north-east of Kitchanga, forcing thousands of people to flee towards Goma.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) says the peacekeeping mission continues its engagement in Goma with various communities and local leaders to discuss the security and humanitarian situation in the province, as well as anti-MONUSCO sentiments, which hampers access to communities in need of immediate humanitarian aid, especially in areas around Kitchanga.
In 2022 and early 2023, attacks by non-state armed groups in the eastern DRC have killed hundreds of civilians and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in search of safety. At least 52,000 people have fled recent violence in Ituri province which is already hosting 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Since March 2022, fighting between the “Mouvement du 23 mars” (M23) rebels and Congolese government troops has displaced at least 521,000 people in the eastern North Kivu province.
Ruanda has long been accused of supporting the M23 rebel group. A report by a group of independent United Nations (UN) experts - mandated by the UN Sanctions Committee on the DR Congo - found strong evidence that Ruanda supported the M23, among others by supplying weapons, ammunition and uniforms. In December, the European Union (EU) firmly urged Rwanda to stop supporting the M23 armed group in the North Kivu province.
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. The UN estimates that 26.4 million require humanitarian assistance in the country this year.
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.
Further information
Full text: Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, transcript, February 13, 2023
https://press.un.org/en/2023/db230213.doc.htm