The United Nations expressed deep concern on Tuesday regarding the worsening humanitarian situation in three eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where approximately 3.3 million individuals have been displaced since March 2022.
Militias and rebel factions have long plagued vast regions of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, stemming from the legacy of regional conflicts that erupted in the 1990s and 2000s.
The M23, an armed group that remained dormant for years, resurfaced in late 2021 and has since captured significant territories in North Kivu province, exacerbating the conflict in the region.
The UN issued a warning on Thursday, stating that over $1.5 billion in funding is required to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the people affected by the violence in the region.
“The humanitarian situation in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, already catastrophic, has deteriorated in recent months, and it has been essential to increase the scale of our operation,” said Suzanna Tkalec, the UN coordinator for interim humanitarian aid in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Over the last six weeks, humanitarian organizations have provided aid and assistance to over 910,000 people in the three provinces, according to the UN office.
The UN, the Red Cross, and NGOs will need to provide emergency aid to nearly 5.5 million people by the end of the year, as stated by the UN.
Rwanda is accused by independent UN experts, the DRC government, and several Western nations including the United States and France of actively backing the M23, despite denials from Kigali.