The renewed violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is causing concern. On Monday (October 30), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced in a statement that 6.9 million people were currently internally displaced – the highest figure ever recorded. The agency adds that a large majority of these people need humanitarian assistance. Fighting has intensified since the beginning of October north of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, between the March 23 Movement (M23) rebellion on the one hand, the armed forces of the DRC (FARDC) and armed groups called “patriots” on the other hand.
“IOM is intensifying its efforts to respond to the complex and persistent crisis in the DRC,” the organization announced. With ongoing conflict and escalating violence, the DRC faces one of the world’s largest internal displacement and humanitarian crises. »
At the end of 2021, the resurgence of the M23, a rebellion supported by neighboring Rwanda according to numerous sources, caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in North Kivu and aggravated an almost permanent humanitarian crisis in the east of the DRC for almost thirty years. At the end of October, around 5.6 million displaced people from the DRC were established in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika, according to the IOM, which specifies that the violence constitutes the main reason for these movements. In North Kivu alone, nearly 1 million residents have fled their homes due to fighting involving the M23.
“The latest escalation of the conflict has driven more people from their homes in a very short period of time rarely seen in the past. We must urgently deliver aid to those who need it most,” warned Fabien Sambussy, IOM head of mission in the DRC.