DR Congo crisis: Thousands flee clashes in South Kivu

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Continued clashes in South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are triggering mass displacement and causing civilian casualties, UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA said on Friday. 

Escalating fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese troops has caused thousands of people to flee, with many heading towards the provincial capital, Bukavu – where UN humanitarian agencies in the east are now located following the fall of Goma.

Local aid partners report that a bombing on Thursday resulted in three civilians being injured and power infrastructure damaged in the town of Nyabibwe, located some 60 kilometres north of Bukavu.

This happened a day after three workers with a non-governmental organization (NGO) were killed in North Kivu province under circumstances that remain unclear. 

Humanitarians at risk

“This incident is a reminder of the unacceptable risks facing aid workers,” said OCHA, adding that the NGO has had to suspend food and agriculture assistance in the area, affecting 36,000 people.

Elsewhere in North Kivu, OCHA and humanitarian partners continue to assess conditions in and around Goma, where hundreds of thousands of people are still on the move.

 An assessment this week estimates that nearly 33,000 people have returned to villages in Nyiragongo Territory, immediately northeast of the city.

Health facilities destroyed

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that health facilities in North Kivu have been heavily impacted by recent violence.  Many are destroyed while some others struggle to restart operations.

Cancer, diabetes, hypertension, mental health and other routine services are also affected as medicines have run out, and health workers are either absent or overburdened.

WHO warned that the threat of infectious diseases has multiplied in a region where cholera, malaria, measles, meningitis, mpox and tuberculosis are among the major concerns.

Water supply in Goma was disrupted and has been partially restored in some areas, leading people to rely on water from the lake and heightening the risk of cholera. Nearly 600 suspected cases of the disease, and 14 deaths, were reported in North Kivu between 1 and 27 January.

In response to the crisis, WHO has deployed emergency medical supplies, hygiene and water treatment supplies, and tents to increase hospital capacity by 1,000 beds.  However supplies are being depleted rapidly, and more resources are urgently needed.

On Friday, leaders from East and Southern Africa met in Tanzania for a summit on the crisis in the eastern DRC, which was also the focus of a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The situation will again be discussed at a Summit-level meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council in Ethiopia next week, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres will attend.