UN urges more humanitarian aid for war-torn DR Congo

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GOMA - The UN on Friday launched an urgent appeal for humanitarian assistance for millions of people affected by conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

By April, only about 15 percent of resources needed to assist 8.7 million people were mobilised, according to Bruno Lemarquis, the DRC humanitarian coordinator for the UN.

"The needs are immense and they exceed what we are able to provide," Lemarquis told the press.

Militias have plagued the troubled region for decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.

Tensions have resumed since the M23 group (March 23 movement), which is allegedly backed by Rwanda, began capturing swathes of territory in late 2021.

The total amount of aid planned for 2024 is 2.6 billion dollars, said Lemarquis.

"We do not have the resources to provide an adequate response and we are obliged to make priorities," he said, noting "a trend of under-funding of humanitarian action in the DRC" over the last 10 years.

"There are so many crises in the world that perhaps we need to speak out more loudly about the crisis in the DRC...

Alongside Lemarquis on a trip to Goma, Belgium's ambassador to the DRC, Roxane de Bilderling, agreed that "the military side... is not solving" the conflict. "It's getting worse and worse."

But for the Congolese Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Modeste Mutinga, the diplomatic solution is limited.

Mutinga criticised the international community for not imposing sanctions on Rwanda, which Kinshasa regards as an "aggressor".

"Congolese opinion senses that this is some kind of plot against the DRC," Mutinga said.