The United Nations Agency Calls For Immediately Action To Overcome The Humanitarian Crisis In The Democratic Republic Of Congo

Rescue of women and children victims of kidnapping in Congo. (ANTARA/HO-Anadolu/www.aa.com.tr)

JAKARTA - A UN agency on Friday urged action to stem the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic (RD) of Congo.

Food insecurity, internal evacuation and gender-based violence have hit record levels in Congo, according to the International Migration Organization (IOM).

"In eastern Congo's RD, I met with people affected by the conflict throughout their lives, living in very difficult conditions in transient camps."

"The situation faced by women and children - who bear the burden of the conflict - is very sad, with rising acts of sexual violence and gender-based," said IOM chief Amy Pope, after a trip to Congo.

Fighting between Congoe forces and the M23 armed group, the most active of hundreds of groups in the country, has displaced more than 7 million residents since around 1990.

In addition, heavy rains and floods have displaced tens of thousands of people, exacerbating humanitarian conditions.

"The need for humanity here is huge. However, the refugee families I spoke to here told me that, more than anything else, they needed peace to be able to rebuild their lives," Pope said, as reported by Antara.

Conflicts related to land and customary claims in western Congo's RD erupted in June 2022 between communities called "original" and "non-original" that led to the killing and evacuation of hundreds of people, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In July, acts of violence erupted after a group calling themselves Mobondo attacked residents of Teke village with machetes and military assault rifles.

Congo's security forces carried out operations but failed to defuse the violence.