By Kudra Maliro
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the UN have launched an appeal for $2.6 billion in emergency aid for a humanitarian crisis in the country's conflict-torn eastern region.
Fighting has escalated in recent weeks between the M23 rebels and Congolese armed forces near the provincial capital, Goma, killing dozens. Eastern Congo is rich in mineral wealth.
Kinshasa, the UN and Western countries say Rwanda is supporting the rebel group in a bid to control vast mineral resources in the region, an allegation Kigali denies.
The amount of money being sought is meant to "provide live-saving assistance and protection to 8.7 million people," the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA said in a statement.
"More than 25 million people are food-insecure, while acute malnutrition affects more than 8 million people, mainly children under the age of five," it said.
Since February, fresh fighting erupted around Goma and Sake and the UN has warned of possible spread of the fighting and the humanitarian crisis.
"People want to go home and get back to normal life," added Bruno Lemarquis, the UN Deputy Special Representative.
The M23 is a predominantly Tutsi rebellion that took up arms again at the end of 2021 after several years' dormancy and has since seized large swathes of North Kivu.
It claims to be defending an endangered section of the population and is calling for negotiations, which Kinshasa refuses, ruling out talks with "terrorists".
There are currently 6.7 million internally displaced people in the DRC, against a backdrop of severe flooding and an upsurge in measles and cholera epidemics.
"The situation is truly dramatic. The international community needs to turn its attention to the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Modeste Mutinga Mutushayi, Congo's minister of social affairs.
In 2023, donors funded only 40% of an appeal for aid. This has enabled more than 5 million people to be assisted, but many needs remain unmet, said the minister
"More than a million children no longer go to school because of armed conflict, and that's sad," he said
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