Conflict has plagued the DRC for decades, particularly in the east. Armed clashes escalated sharply this year as M23 rebels wrested control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in January, followed by Bukavu in South Kivu a month later. The security and humanitarian situation further deteriorated with recent outbreaks of anthrax...
At least nine people were killed and seven injured when a Russian drone struck a minibus near the town of Bilopillia in the Sumy region, according to local authorities. HRMMU monitors are in the process of gathering additional information on the circumstances of the attack and its victims. Preliminary reports...
And with nearly seven million people forcibly displaced by violence since advances by M23 rebels earlier this year, the DRC is facing one of the world’s most complex displacement crises, according to the UN migration agency (IOM). Living in overcrowded and under-resourced camps, displaced populations are increasingly vulnerable to both...
In a briefing to ambassadors, UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region Huang Xia called for increased coordination of peace processes. He noted that the Congo River Alliance-M23 rebel group has continued its territorial expansion. This is happening despite calls from the Security Council, regional and sub-regional organizations in...
The Rugumba River burst its banks, inundating large areas of Kalemie and Nyunzu territories, destroying homes, schools and agricultural land. Thousands have been left without shelter or a means to earn a living, while key crops such as cassava, maize, and peanuts have been wiped out, worsening an already serious...
That’s according to the head of MONUSCO, Bintou Keita, speaking exclusively to UN News ahead of briefing members of the UN Security Council in New York on Thursday. Mediation efforts The meeting between Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame last week in Qatar – where they called for a...
Over 850,000 civilians have been displaced in South Kivu province, nearly half of them children, according to the agency. Many are living in precarious conditions, sheltering in schools, churches or in the open, lacking clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education. Grave violations against children have also sharply risen, including...
According to the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, aid workers have been among those killed, and widespread human rights violations have been reported, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at a regular news briefing in New York. “In Lubero Territory, north of Goma, clashes last week forced more than 100,000...
The 15 members called on the Rwanda Defence Forces to stop supporting the armed group and immediately withdraw from Congolese territory “without preconditions.” The Council reiterated its urgent appeal for all parties to conclude an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as called for by leaders from East and Southern Africa. They...
“The rapid and uninterrupted expansion of the conflict, particularly in South Kivu province, continues to inflict a heavy toll on the civilian population,” said UN humanitarian coordinator for DRC, Bruno Lemarquis. “The population can no longer continue to pay such a heavy price for a conflict that continues to spread...
Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, expressed deep concern over the devastating impact on children and families. “In North and South Kivu provinces, we are receiving horrific reports of grave violations against children by parties to the conflict, including rape and other forms of sexual violence at levels surpassing anything we...
Fighting escalated sharply in late January, as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized control of parts of North Kivu, including areas near the regional capital Goma, and advanced towards South Kivu. Before the latest violence, mpox cases had been stabilizing, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a speech to the agency’s...