- UN human rights office spokesperson warns any attack on Goma 'risks catastrophic impacts on hundreds of thousands of civilians'

GENEVA

The UN refugee agency on Friday said it is "gravely" concerned about the safety and security of civilians and internally displaced people (IDPs) in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as conflict further intensifies.

UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh told a UN briefing in Geneva that the number of people displaced has now surged to more than 400,000 this year alone, almost double the number reported just last week.

Saltmarsh warned that ongoing intensified clashes between belligerents in South and North Kivu are deteriorating the protection environment for civilians in these provinces, which already have 4.6 million IDPs.

"Human rights violations, including looting, injuries, murders, kidnappings, and arbitrary arrests of displaced people mistaken for rebels, have escalated," he said, noting that hospitals are nearing capacity with injured civilians.

Vulnerable women, children, and the elderly are living in overcrowded and precarious conditions with limited access to food, water, and essential services, according to the spokesperson.

He stressed that humanitarian access to address urgent needs is "significantly restricted" as all roads to Minova, including for humanitarian aid, are closed.

UNHCR calls on all parties, he said, to ensure immediate and unrestricted access to populations in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as to prioritize the protection of civilians.

"It is vital, and long overdue, for peace to take root in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the benefit of its people and the region," he concluded.

Attack on Goma risks 'catastrophic impacts' on civilians

The UN human rights office also voiced concern over the matter, saying the office is "deeply alarmed" at the heightened risk of an attack by the M23 armed group on Goma, the capital of North Kivu.

"Any such attack on Goma risks catastrophic impacts on hundreds of thousands of civilians, putting them at heightened exposure to human rights violations and abuses," spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told the briefing.

The human rights chief, Volker Turk, is calling on all parties to the conflict to de-escalate tensions and, consistent with their obligations and responsibilities under international human rights and humanitarian law, to ensure that civilians are unharmed, she said.

She added that they must also respect the principles of distinction, precaution, and proportionality and ensure those in need have safe and unfettered access to humanitarian aid.

"The High Commissioner appeals to all states with influence on the parties to impress on them the urgent need for an immediate cessation of hostilities," she said. "Any role played by Rwanda in supporting the M23 – and by any other country supporting armed groups active in the DR Congo – must end."

Asked about Türkiye's will to mediate the crisis, UN spokesperson in Geneva Alessandra Vellucci said every effort is "welcome."

"There is a process that is engaged, and as I said, the secretary-general urges all parties to commit and continue committing to it, and the other efforts towards facing this trouble are obviously welcome, but there's a process, and we really hope that everybody will be engaged in that process," she said.