The majority of sexual violence cases in North Kivu are happening when survivors are fleeing the escalating fighting between the DRC army, the M23, and many other armed groups.
The UNHCR put the numbers fleeing the fighting at 450,000 and said at least 200,000 of the internally displaced people had been cut off from humanitarian aid.
“For decades, the Congolese people have been living through a storm of crises.”
“The military build-up of the two countries, the absence of direct, high-level dialogue, and the persistence of hate speech are all worrying signs that we cannot ignore.”
DR Congo’s health system is under huge pressure due to overlapping outbreaks of COVID-19, measles, polio, and monkeypox.
Ms Gamba described the use of schools both by armed forces and armed groups as “a very worrisome trend”, calling for them to remain “zones of peace”.
The threat posed by the Janjaweed was always very evident — even to the uninitiated.
Rwandan forces have fired at a fighter jet from the DRC that it said had violated its airspace.
In March, similar fighting between government forces and rebels forced over 10,000 Congolese to flee to Uganda, according to UNHCR figures.
