Cape Town [South Africa], January 29: Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing for their lives in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, humanitarian organizations said on Tuesday, while protesters attacked EU and African embassies.
Since the advance of the rebel militia M23, they are no longer safe from gunfire and artillery, they said.
After days of heavy fighting, the militia entered the strategically important provincial capital Goma in the early hours of Monday. Goma is located in one of Congo's most resource-rich areas and borders Rwanda.
In addition to the residents of the provincial capital, more than 300,000 people from nearby camps for the displaced are reportedly also fleeing, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva.
Workers reported seeing bodies in the streets. The hospitals are said to be completely overcrowded with the wounded, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). They had been able to fly in medical supplies shortly before the airport in Goma was closed over the weekend, the WHO said.
There are reports of numerous rapes. The internet is no longer functioning and power and water supplies are limited, OCHA stated. Warehouses of the World Food Programme (WFP) were looted. "This shows how desperate the people are," said Shelley Thakral, WFP's spokeswoman in Kinshasa.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) appealed to donor countries to provide funds for aid. The UN organizations are waiting for the situation to calm down in order to resupply the people. "This is not just a regional matter, but a global responsibility," said UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh.
Both the Congolese government and UN experts accuse neighbouring Rwanda of supporting M23 and having its own troops in eastern Congo.
Protesters have attacked the French, Belgian and Dutch embassies and three African embassies in the country's capital Kinshasa, according to officials.
Source: Qatar Tribune
