Violence escalates in eastern DR Congo

ReliefWeb: Updates by Country 22.02.2024 08:20 Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo Source: Malteser International Cologne/Ariwara. Following the recent attacks by the militant group M23 on the town of Sake, 25 kilometres from the provincial capital of Goma, the situation for refugees in the region is worsening. In addition, refugee camps have also been attacked in recent days and people can no longer feel safe there either. More than 500,000 displaced people are already living in Goma because they are seeking protection there. In the past few days alone, around 135,000 people have arrived. Many of them are children. "Thankfully, our projects in Ituri are not currently affected by this wave of violence from the M23. However, the CODECO group and other armed groups are terrorising people in the Ituri region. In January alone, 44 civilians were reportedly murdered by armed groups," says Miriam Suhr, Program Manager for the DR Congo at Malteser International. "Of course, this increasing violence also has an impact on our work. Supply routes are becoming inaccessible, for example, and in some health zones we have to provide medical care to more and more people due to the increasing number of refugees. This is also pushing our capacities to their limit time and again. In Ituri alone, there are currently 1.6 million refugees. And the number is growing, as the violence leaves people with no choice but to run for their lives and flee." Malteser International has been supporting the people of the DR Congo since 1996 in the eastern provinces, primarily in the areas of health, water/sanitation and hygiene and food security. "The most important thing now is to end the violence so that people can return to their homes," says Suhr. The people in the DR Congo are in urgent need of donations. Contact Katharina Kiecol +49- 221-9822-7181 Email: katharina.kiecol malteser-international.org

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