The UN warned of a critical 24 hours in Goma, DRC, amid a rapidly deteriorating situation due to clashes between the army and M23 rebels.
No fewer than 100 people have been killed in clashes between the army of the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 fighters supported by Rwandan soldiers. DAILY POST gathered that at least 1,000 wounded in the fighting have also flooded the hospitals in the capital of the mineral-rich North Kivu province.
The UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, is relocating administrative staff and others in North Kivu that can continue performing their duties from elsewhere in response to the deteriorating security situation and intensifying hostilities involving the non-State armed group M23, a Rwandan-backed movement fighting against the Congolese Government.
Essential UN personnel are remaining on the ground, sustaining critical operations such as food distribution, medical assistance, shelter, and protection for vulnerable communities,” MONUSCO said.
The Congolese army and peacekeepers are trying to stop an M23 advance on Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.
Sixty-eight United Nations (UN) staff and their dependants were on Wednesday afternoon airlifted from Kigali International Airport by a UN aircraft and were believed to be headed to Entebbe in Uganda from where they would be flown to the Congolese capital Kinshasa.
The UN is temporarily relocating non-essential staff from Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Saturday without interrupting its operations in the country at a time heightened security concerns.
A rebel alliance claimed the capture of the biggest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich eastern region this week, pushing back against resistance from government troops backed by regional and UN intervention forces.
Authorities say the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province has died from injuries sustained in fighting on the front line as M23 rebels close in on Goma.
Fighting between Congolese forces and Rwandan-backed fighters edged closer to the major city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
KINSHASA (Reuters) - The military governor of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo has died from injuries suffered on the frontline during an offensive by M23 rebels in the east, a government source and an internal UN report seen by Reuters confirmed on Friday.
The humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is "not just a regional concern but a global responsibility," a UN spokesperson said Tuesday.