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| A group of Congolese women protesting against the M23 outside MONUSCO headquarters in Kinshasa. [PHOTO: UNifeed] |
Geneva/Kinshasa: Humanitarian agencies are still unable to reach tens of
thousands of displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s North
Kivu province as fighting continues around the city of Goma.
Most aid agencies operating in eastern DRC have their
operations based in the eastern town of Goma.
Adrian Edwards, Spokesperson for the United Nation's Refugee
Agency, UNHCR, told journalists at a briefing in Geneva that "normally we work in 31 displaced camps in North Kivu hosting just
over 108,000 people. The fighting has
meant that we and our partners have not been able to access most of these
areas".
The United Nations (UN) estimates that there are over 1.6
million internally displaced persons in eastern DRC as a result of fighting
between the national army and rebel groups in the region.
The UN Children's fund, UNICEF, fears there could be a spike
in cholera cases as those displaced may not have access to sanitation and clean
water services.
Speaking at the same briefing, UNICEF's spokerperson,
Marixie Mercado said that, "Many of the displaced come form other camps or
villages where there was previously cholera.
There are huge numbers of children collecting water from Lake Kivu which
obviously raises the risk of disease spreading".
Mercado also warned of the dangers of children being
recruited by armed groups, "M23 has
apparently grown significantly in numbers and there are over the past few days
and there are other groups operating in the area which raises the likelihood of
recruitment of children, particularly those children who've already been
recruited and separated from armed groups."
The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) Rupert Colville said that between the November 18th and 20th in
and around Goma there were four civilians allegedly killed, including a
pregnant woman and a baby and "at least 50 other civilians" were
wounded during armed clashes between the Congolese national army (FARDC) and
the M23 rebel group.
Colville also said that in Sake, about 20km west of Goma, at
least five women had allegedly been killed and at least 17 civilians wounded
"during fighting between the two groups, M23 and the Government
forces".
Meanwhile in the DRC's capital Kinshasa, a group of
Congolese women are continuing their protest outside the headquarters of the UN
peacekeeping mission in DRC, known as MONUSCO.
According to one woman,
they are calling for "the M23, the Rwandan troops, and the Ugandan
troops" to leave Goma, and are asking for MONUSCO's mandate to be changed
so it can use its powers under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter to remove the rebels
from Goma.
The women say they will only leave when they get
satisfaction. -UNifeed