UNHCR Concerned Over Killing Of 70 Displaced People In DR Congo

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern Tuesday over the killing of at least 70 internally displaced people in a series of deadly attacks by armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is dismayed by this series of attacks," which are partly the result of inter-communal tensions, agency spokesman Boris Cheshirkov said at a news conference in Geneva.

He cited three attacks in particular, including one on Nov. 14 where an armed group killed six children and a pregnant woman in Mikenge in South Kivu, wounding others with bullets and machetes.

On Nov. 21, militiamen killed 44 people between Drodro and Tche and destroyed more than 2,200 shelters between the two locations.

Ten women and nine children were killed in the latest attack on Nov. 28, in Ndjala in the Drodro health zone in Ituri, one of the provinces most affected by displacement in the central African country.

Cheshirkov said 20,000 fleeing residents have taken refuge in Rhoe near the military base of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

"The site [nearly] doubled in size from 21,000 to 40,500 inhabitants in less than 48 hours, forcing newly arrived families to sleep under the stars," he said.

He said violence exacerbates the plight of people forced to flee their homes and arouses fear in local populations.

The UN Refugee Agency urged respect for the civilian and humanitarian character of displacement sites and all parties to guarantee access to sites so that humanitarian actors can provide essential assistance.

The UNHCR reported that 5.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes in the DRC, 400,000 more than at the beginning of 2021. -