Escalating violence in Congo's eastern region has displaced at least 250,000 people in the last month, a senior United Nations official said on Wednesday, describing the situation as an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Far from the nation's capital, Kinshasa, eastern Congo has long been overrun by more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of the region's gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings.
Escalating violence in Congo's eastern region has displaced at least 250,000 people in the last month, a senior United Nations official said on Wednesday, describing the situation as an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Far from the nation's capital, Kinshasa, eastern Congo has long been overrun by more than 120 armed groups seeking a share of the region's gold and other resources as they carry out mass killings. The result is one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, with about 7 million people displaced, many of them beyond the reach of aid.
바카라It's really heartbreaking (and) what I saw is truly a horrible situation," Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination in the UN humanitarian office, told The Associated Press.
Rajasingham visited the city of Goma, where many are taking refuge. 바카라Such a large number of displaced persons in such a short time is unprecedented,바카라 he said.
Amid intensified fighting with security forces, the M23 rebel group 바카라 the most dominant in the region with alleged links to neighbouring Rwanda 바카라 has continued to attack villages, forcing many to flee to Goma, the region's largest city whose estimated population of 2 million people is already overstretched with inadequate resources.
While M23 has said it is targeting security forces and not civilians, it has laid siege to several communities, with about half of North Kivu province under its control, according to Richard Moncrieff, the Crisis Group's Great Lakes region director, leaving many trapped and out of the reach of humanitarian aid.
바카라We fled insecurity, but here too, we live in constant fear,바카라 Chance Wabiwa, 20, said in Goma where she is taking refuge. "Finding a peaceful place has become a utopia for us. Perhaps we will never have it again,바카라 said Wabiwa.
Reelected to a second five-year term in December, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has blamed neighbouring Rwanda for providing military support to the rebels. Rwanda denies the claim but UN experts have said there is substantial evidence of their forces in Congo.
Both regional and UN peacekeepers have been asked to leave Congo after the government accused them of failing to resolve the conflict.
Rajasingham said humanitarian agencies are doing their best to reach those affected by the conflict but warned that 바카라an enormous influx of people is putting challenges beyond what we can meet right now바카라.
바카라There has to be a solution to the suffering, to the displacement, to the loss of livelihoods, the loss of education,바카라 he said.