The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that clashes and insecurity continue to kill and injure civilians in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). Ongoing fighting between non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and the Congolese army, and attacks by NSAGs against civilians, are also causing record displacement, with eastern DRC facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
In South Kivu province, humanitarian agencies warn that ongoing violence in the Uvira and Fizi territories has forced nearly 370,000 people to flee their homes since the beginning of February alone. Meanwhile, OCHA estimates that at least 626,000 people were displaced within eastern DRC in the four months between October 2024 and January 2025.
Humanitarian agencies report that large numbers of people are still on the move in eastern DRC, so displacement figures are fluid.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday that the resurgence of conflict in South Kivu province has forced more than 850,000 people - nearly half of them children - to flee their homes. OCHA reported on Saturday that at least 100,000 people were displaced by armed violence in February in the areas of Djugu, Irumu and Mambasa in Ituri province.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 94,000 people from DRC have sought protection in neighboring countries, including some 66,000 women, children and men who have crossed into Burundi and nearly 25,000 into Uganda.
Since the beginning of 2025, security and humanitarian conditions in South and North Kivu have rapidly deteriorated, with civilian deaths, injuries, mass displacement, and widespread violations of international humanitarian law.
Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and human rights abuses continue to be widespread near the front lines, as well as the looting and destruction of civilian homes and businesses. Looting and restricted access have severely disrupted humanitarian operations, leaving many without basic services.
Since early January, the longstanding instability and insecurity in eastern DRC has escalated as the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebel group has intensified its fighting and continued to seize territory in North and South Kivu provinces.
The Rwandan-backed M23 seized the South Kivu capital of Bukavu on February 16, about three weeks after capturing the North Kivu capital of Goma, where fighting left more than 3,000 people dead and 2,000 others injured.
After capturing the two largest cities in eastern DRC, the rebels have also taken control of other key towns, including Masisi, Sake and Nyabibwe, and have set up "parallel administrations" in some of the areas they control.
These seizures have resulted in thousands of deaths, injuries, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in and around Goma. The M23 has forced hundreds of thousands to return to their areas of origin in a second wave of displacement.
Peace talks between the Congolese government and the M23 are reportedly scheduled to begin on March 18 in Angola.
The M23 rebel group is one of more than 130 armed groups operating in eastern DRC, primarily in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, vying for control of valuable and abundant mineral resources, including gold, diamonds, uranium, and copper, as well as coltan and cobalt, key components in batteries used in electric cars, cell phones, and other electronics.
Even before the recent escalation of armed conflict, DR Congo faced one of the largest and most under-reported humanitarian crises in the world, characterized by widespread human rights violations and massive forced displacement.
With a population of approximately 118 million, the DRC is estimated to have 21 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2025, one of the highest numbers in the world. At least 9 million people in the country have been forced to flee their homes, including 1 million who have crossed borders.
At the end of 2024, more than 7.8 million people across the DRC, including nearly 4 million children, had been internally displaced by conflict. Before the recent escalation, 5.9 million people were internally displaced in the three eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri.
Serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law have been reported throughout the east.
UNICEF said on Friday that the ongoing violence in South Kivu province has led to a sharp increase in grave violations against children. Verified cases of violations include sexual violence, killings, maiming, and the recruitment and use of children by armed groups.
"I met unaccompanied children seeking refuge at the University Clinics — children who have lost everything. Their distress is immense, and every day without a stronger humanitarian response worsens their suffering," said Jean François Basse, UNICEF’s Acting Representative in the DRC, in a statement
"We are facing an unprecedented protection crisis. Children are being targeted. They are being killed, recruited, torn from their families, and exposed to horrific sexual and physical violence."
According to UNICEF, the fighting has seriously limited humanitarian operations. The closure of Kavumu airport, located 25 kilometers north of Bukavu - a key entry point for the delivery of essential supplies - and the closure of banks have disrupted field operations and delayed payments and distributions.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the closure of Goma airport, since it was taken over by the M23 at the end of January 2025, has also hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid, while the shortage of medical supplies, the destruction of numerous camps for displaced persons and the looting of humanitarian warehouses are further exacerbating the crisis.
Education has also been impacted, with the additional closure of more than 1,000 schools in South Kivu province, disrupting the education of more than 300,000 students. An estimated 692 schools in North Kivu and 5,235 schools in South Kivu remain closed, having been ordered to close following the escalation of hostilities in January.
The cholera outbreak continues to spread in the east of the country. The impact of continued insecurity and displacement has contributed to the growing outbreak. UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are providing cholera treatment as well as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in the area, but more resources and improved humanitarian access are urgently needed to contain the outbreak.
On Thursday, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated US$750,000 to help prevent the cholera outbreak in North Kivu from spreading further. The funds will support UNICEF, WHO and other relief agencies in providing WASH and health services.