679,000 Civilians In Need Of Aid In DR Congo

Humanitarian partners estimate that at least 679,000 civilians would be in need of assistance due to the fighting going on in eastern DR Congo, and 315,000 of this number have been targeted by the combatants.
According to state and humanitarian actors cited by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), about 340,000 persons have been displaced since fighting between the DR Congo army, FARDC, and M23 combatants broke out in Rutshuru territory of North Kivu in March this year, with more than half of those affected being women.
The UNOCHA reveals that at least 49 per cent of the displaced persons live within benevolent families while thousands of others use schools as shelter and occupy hospitals, churches, and other improvised sites.
Sixty-two actors, including UN agencies, state services, and other humanitarian partners, have been identified in the zone, who have until now been supporting at least 83,000 displaced persons.
“Meanwhile, the humanitarian needs have been increasing by the day in view of the continuing fighting. Shelter, food, essential household items, water, protection and healthcare are the most urgent,” explains UNOCHA.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has reiterated the availability of the United Nations to support the return of displaced persons to their regions of origin, in coordination with national authorities in charge, according to existing contexts and in conformity with the principles of international humanitarian law and its provisions.
On the military front, a relative calm is being observed in several fronts as the third series of consultations linked to the Nairobi process opened on Monday, Nov. 28.
The UN chief scribe has, as the regional leaders, equally called on all armed groups, both Congolese and foreign, to immediately lay down their arms and join the respective processes of demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration/repatriation.