The United Nations (UN) estimates at least 23,000 people have been displaced by renewed violence between the Congolese army and fighters from the M23 armed group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North-Kivu province. The estimate includes some 2,500 men, women and children who have crossed into neighboring Uganda. In a report released Sunday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says hostilities erupted on October 20 in the locality of Rangira in Rutshuru Territory.
According to OCHA, there have been clashes in neighboring villages since Thursday resulting in thousands of people fleeing the violence. The resumption of fighting between Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) militia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) armed forces in North Kivu has also resulted in the death of at least seven civilians. Others civilians have been injured or reported to be missing. As fighting intensified over the weekend, at least 30 wounded civilians were trapped in the combat zones and urgently required health care, an UN spokesperson said.
The United Nations are monitoring the situation to better assess the scale of population movements and respond to the needs of the newly displaced. Since March 2022, clashes between the DRC armed forces and the M23 militia have forced at least 186,000 people to flee their homes, bringing the total number of displaced people in Rutshuru territory to more than 396,000. Humanitarian organizations continue to provide food, health care, water and hygiene assistance. OCHA anticipates additional humanitarian assistance will be needed due to the latest clashes.
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.
Further information
Full text: Democratic Republic of the Congo– North-Kivu, Flash Update, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, published October 23, 2022
https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/democratic-republic-congo-north-kivu-flash-update-2-populations-displacement-rutshuru-territory-23-october-2022
Daily Briefings by the Office of the Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General
https://press.un.org/en/noon-briefings
Donate now to UN Crisis Relief: Democratic Republic of the Congo Emergency
https://crisisrelief.un.org/drc-crisis