After a year of heightened insecurity and violence against civilians, the humanitarian situation in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is now at a tipping point, putting millions of civilians at risk, the international humanitarian organization Danish Refugee Council (DRC) warned on Friday. Since early February, a resurgence of fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group has forced thousands of people from their homes.
Among them are 135,000 people who have fled the town of Sake towards the provincial capital, Goma.
“Attacks on IDP [internally displaced person] camps are not an isolated case, their frequency is such that people are constantly on the move”, said Michel Paradis, DRC’s Country Director in DR Congo, in a statement.
“It is unthinkable that attacks are perpetrated on IDP camps, where people come in search of safety,” he added.
The Danish Refugee Council stressed that the indiscriminate bombing and subsequent population displacement are putting additional pressure on the humanitarian infrastructure, which was already bursting at the seams due to the extraordinary scale of the needs and lack of funding.
Displaced families are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including protection, food, water and sanitation, the non-governmental organization (NGO) said. The province of North Kivu is already home to 2.5 million forcibly displaced people. Humanitarian organizations estimate that about 1 million women, children, and men have been displaced since November 2023.
Not only does the violence upsurge the needs, but it also impedes humanitarian access to some of the people who need it the most. Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) fighters have blocked the two main roads to Goma, leaving limited options for safe passage and leading to a surge in food prices.
“Once again, civilians are bearing the brunt of the conflict. We are witnessing blatant violations of international humanitarian law. Under no circumstances, whatever the conflict, should civilians be targeted,” Paradis said.
The DRC said it is extremely concerned about the current situation, and in the strongest terms called on all involved parties to uphold respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, and to protect civilians and humanitarian workers from violence in Masisi territory and eastern DR Congo more broadly.
Friday warning comes after several other humanitarian agencies have also expressed their concern within recent days about the escalating humanitarian crisis in the eastern DR Congo, particularly in the Masisi territory in the province of North Kivu.
The international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) reported Friday that medical facilities supported by MSF in North Kivu had received a massive influx of war-wounded in recent days, and around 10,000 people fled their homes and took refuge in the Mweso general referral hospital in Masisi territory, following heavy fighting in North Kivu.
Following the intensification of fighting in Mweso over the past few days, many of the people taking refuge at the hospital had fled to nearby towns, MSF said. However, at least 2,500 people, including minors who had lost their parents, were still inside the hospital
"The situation is extremely worrying. The hospital is overwhelmed, with thousands of people crammed inside, trying to find some protection from the fighting," said Çaglar Tahiroglu, MSF project coordinator in Mweso.
On Thursday, the international aid agency World Vision warned that the city of Goma – currently under government control and a hub for aid agencies – was now increasingly isolated and at risk of coming under siege from armed rebel fighters.
“We saw women arriving in Goma from Sake and Masisi in panic because, in the chaos of fleeing, they had become separated from their children. My heart breaks when I see youngsters arriving in overcrowded camps after walking for days.” said David Munkley, World Vision’s director for eastern DRC. 
“They told us that they had fled their homes without taking anything because shells were hitting their homes, killing, and injuring civilians,” he added.
Also on Thursday, the non-governmental organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) urged that immediate action must be taken to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo before the situation deteriorates further.
Since 2022, the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular North Kivu, has been gripped by a devastating conflict that has intensified and become increasingly complex over time. The crisis is characterized by an abundance of armed actors in the conflict, large-scale displacement and a growing number of women, children, and men in need of humanitarian aid.
The ongoing armed conflict between the M23 rebel group and the DR Congo armed forces (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo, FARDC) and their allies has been a major source of violence and instability in the region. The situation has deteriorated further since the withdrawal of several East African Community (EAC) force bases from the affected territories.
The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are suffering from one of the world's most neglected displacement crises, with nearly 8 million women, children, and men in the country forced to flee their homes.
Ongoing conflict in the country fuels hunger. Between January and June 2024, some 23.4 million people in DR Congo are likely to face high levels of acute food insecurity (crisis levels or above) and in dire need of humanitarian assistance. More than 1.1 million children are acutely malnourished. 250,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and need urgent medical assistance.
The UN estimates that 25.4 million people in the country will be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024. Among them are an estimated 14.9 million children. In the three eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, nearly 8 million women, men, and children require humanitarian aid.
The humanitarian response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is dangerously underfunded.
Last year’s Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for the Democratic Republic of the Congo called for $2.3 billion to provide life-saving assistance to millions of people. As of February 2024, the 2023 HRP was only 40 percent funded. The 2023 Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for the DR Congo required $549 million. As of February 2024, the 2023 RRP was only 26 percent covered by funding.
Further information
Full text: 135,000 people displaced and millions of people at risk as clashes intensify in North Kivu, DR Congo, Danish Refugee Council, press release, published February 16, 2024
https://pro.drc.ngo/resources/news/135-000-people-displaced-and-millions-of-people-at-risk-as-clashes-intensify-in-north-kivu-dr-congo/
Full text: RDC: dans le Nord-Kivu, les populations et les structures de santé face à la reprise des combats, MSF press release, published February 16, 2024 (in French)
https://www.msf.fr/actualites/rdc-dans-le-nord-kivu-les-populations-et-les-structures-de-sante-face-a-la-reprise-des-combats
Full text: “DR Congo conflict rages, endangering civilians with intensified violence, mass displacement and Aid route disruption” warns World Vision, World Vision press release, published February 15, 2024
https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/dr-congo-conflict-rages-endangering-civilians-intensified-violence-mass-displacement-and-aid-route-disruption-warns-world-vision
Full text: DR Congo: Fighting puts Goma at risk of lockdown, threatening humanitarian support for millions, Norwegian Refugee Council, press release, published February 15, 2024
https://www.nrc.no/news/2024/february/dr-congo-fighting-puts-goma-at-risk-of-lockdown-threatening-humanitarian-support-for-millions/