400,000 Displaced as Conflict Rages in DR Congo’s Volatile East

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres alarmed by the resumption of hostilities

Fri Jan 24 2025
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GOMA: The DR Congo army and M23 on Friday clashed near the main city in the country’s volatile east as the UN warned the raging conflict had displaced over 400,000 people this year and could spark a regional war.

Since peace talks failed, M23 fighters have gained swathes of territory in east DRC in recent weeks, triggering a humanitarian crisis and ringing the provincial capital Goma, which is home to a million people.

“The number of displacements is now over 400,000 people this year alone, almost double the number reported last week,” Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres was “alarmed by the resumption of hostilities”, his spokesman said in a statement.

“This offensive has a devastating toll on the civilian population and heightened the risk of a broader regional war,” the statement added, demanding the violence “immediately cease.”

Clashes erupted early Friday just 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Goma.

“We are exchanging fire with the enemy on the Kanyamahoro-Kibumba axis, it is violent,” a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

ALSO READ: UN Says Over 230,000 Flee Eastern DR Congo Violence Since January 1

The M23 was also present in the town of Sake on Friday, according to a military source. Sake, about 20 kilometres west of Goma, witnessed intense fighting the previous day.

Congolese army helicopters headed towards Sake Friday morning, with explosions heard in western districts of the town, although it was not clear how intense the fighting was.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi is due to hold a defence council meeting during the day, following a crisis meeting on Thursday.

The military governor of North Kivu, General Peter Cirimwami, died Friday morning, according to military and UN sources. He had been shot Thursday near the frontline.

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