Displacement and Humanitarian Crisis in Eastern DR Congo
The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of individuals. Approximately 90,000 refugees have crossed into Burundi, where aid agencies report challenging living conditions in overcrowded camps with limited access to essential resources such as food and water.
Humanitarian Response
The UN refugee agency, UNCHR, has highlighted the particular vulnerability of children and women, including pregnant women, with some reporting periods without food. The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing emergency assistance and has noted the deteriorating humanitarian situation. MSF reported treating an average of 200 people daily in Ndava, north-west Burundi, since the recent influx of refugees over the past two weeks. The organization has also issued warnings regarding the potential spread of epidemic diseases, including cholera and measles, and an anticipated increase in malaria cases among the affected population.
Separately, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) is expanding its aid efforts to support over 210,000 of the most vulnerable people displaced by the violence. An estimated 500,000 people have been displaced within South Kivu province alone since early December. WFP is currently providing hot meals to 71,000 new Congolese arrivals in transit centers within Burundi. The agency reports that essential services in South Kivu province are severely impacted, with health centers subjected to looting, medicines being unavailable, and schools remaining closed. WFP has appealed for urgent funding to sustain its food aid operations for the next three months.
Conflict Context
The M23 rebel group recently seized control of Uvira, a city located near the Burundi border, which precipitated significant population displacement. The rebels subsequently stated their withdrawal from Uvira. This capture represented an expansion of the M23's territorial gains in eastern DR Congo, following earlier acquisitions of Goma and Bukavu. The reported withdrawal from Uvira, which the M23 attributed to pressure from the United States, has been disputed by Congolese authorities.
The United States previously brokered a peace agreement between the Congolese and Rwandan governments aimed at de-escalating the long-running conflict. The US has accused Rwanda of providing support to the M23 rebels, an allegation Rwanda denies. The M23 rebels were not signatories to this particular peace agreement but have participated in a separate peace process facilitated by Qatar, which maintains strong diplomatic ties with Rwanda and is an ally of the United States.