Escalating violence leaves hundreds dead in eastern DR Congo: UNHCR-Xinhua

Escalating violence leaves hundreds dead in eastern DR Congo: UNHCR

Source: Xinhua| 2023-01-25 00:35:45|Editor: huaxia

KINSHASA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 civilians have been killed in the last six weeks in a series of attacks by non-state armed groups in Ituri Province, in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a statement released Tuesday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The latest deadly attack on Jan. 19 at the Plaine Savo site for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ituri, where armed men stormed the site with firearms and killed two adults and five children, and around 17,000 people fled to the greater security of the nearby town of Bule.

According to the UNHCR, attacks are also occurring in neighboring North Kivu Province, where a dramatic resurgence of clashes began in March 2022 and 521,000 people have fled for their lives from aerial bombardment and forced recruitment by non-state armed groups. Some 120,000 people have moved to the relative safety of the outskirts of the provincial capital of Goma, carrying personal belongings on their heads and children on their backs. In total, 2.1 million people are displaced in the conflict-torn province.

According to the UN refugee agency, more than 5.6 million people are internally displaced in the DRC, making it the largest displaced population on the African continent and one of the largest worldwide. The country also hosts 524,700 refugees.

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