“This month, mass attacks by armed groups in Ituri province have caused 11 people died and 250 houses were looted and burned. From February to June this year, UNHCR and partners have recorded more than 800 deaths from gun and machete attacks on local communities in Ituri,” UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh, reported to journalists in Geneva.
According to UNHCR, at least 715 victims were sheltered at internal displacement sites or killed when they tried to return home.
In June alone, 97 people were killed in attacks that included kidnapping, looting and house burning, UNHCR said.
More than 20,000 displaced
More than 20,000 people have been displaced from their homes as a result of such raids, which has also caused severe food insecurity in the eastern province of Ituri, where agricultural development in this fertile area has plagued by longstanding conflicts between communities.
In North Kivu province, a settlement for internally displaced people was destroyed by an armed group last month.
“In recent weeks, fighting between the Congolese Army and the M23 (rebels) group in North Kivu province has displaced more than 160,000 people across the Rutshuru and Nyiragongo territories. The redeployment of government troops to the conflict has created a power vacuum and a fragile security environment. in both Ituri and North Kivu,” said a UNHCR spokesperson.
Persecuted
Coordinated attacks by multiple militia groups are terrorizing communities in the area. The March 23 movement, known as the M23, was defeated militarily by the Congolese army and a special offensive by UN peacekeepers from MONUSCOin 2013. But the M23 started reappearing with coordinated attacks last November.
“The lack of security measures creates the existing challenge of inter-community conflict, lack of infrastructure and lack of institutions in the area. It also fuels cycles of increased violence, further destabilizing and undermining peace and development efforts,” said Saltmarsh.
‘Demand soars’
The humanitarian situation in the east of the country remains highly complex due to conflicts between communities and between armed non-State groups and security forces, as well as ongoing economic and social challenges and extreme weather events.
“UNHCR’s operations in the DRC received only 19% of the $225 million needed to meet the growing needs of refugees and displaced people with emergency and life-saving assistance.,” said Matthew Saltmarsh. That’s the estimated need-based budget at the beginning of the year. Additional resources are currently required to meet the increased needs of newly displaced populations.
UNHCR urges all parties to immediately stop the violence, while respecting international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and humanitarian workers. With more than 5.6 million displaced people, the DRC has the largest number of internal migrants on the continent.
