By Kudra Maliro
UN agencies in the Democratic Republic of Congo have called for more measures to protect children affected by worsening conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"The children of the DRC need peace now," Grant Leaity, UNICEF Representative in the country told TRT Afrika.
This comes as more people, including children, are often injured or killed near makeshift camps for the displaced in eastern DRC amid armed violence.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said an ''immediate action'' must be taken to protect children and families caught up in the escalating violence.
'Extremely concerned'
"We call for children to be protected in this war and for the violence to be brought to an end by redoubling efforts to find a diplomatic solution,'' Leaity said.
''We are extremely concerned about the safety of children and their families in and around the camps in Goma,'' he added.
They have urged all parties to the armed conflict to allow humanitarian agencies to do their work without hindrance.
Over the past two weeks, fierce fighting there has been heavy fighting in Sake, a town located about 25 kilometres west of the city of Goma, with children and women being caught in deadly crossfires.
The fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese government armed forces has intensified.
Massive displacements
Regional forces have been deployed under a mission facilitated by the Southern African bloc, SADC, to help the DRC government.
The M23 reemerged at the end of 2021 after several years of dormancy and has since seized large swathes of North Kivu region.
The Democratic Republic of Congo accuses neighbouring Rwanda of supporting the rebels M23 - an allegation Kigali denies.
Members of the M23 group claim to be fighting for the rights of the local population but the government has labelled them terrorists and ruled out any negotiations with them.
The latest round of violence around Goma has forced at least 215,000 people from their homes adding to the more than 500,000 already displaced in the area, according to aid agencies. Tens of thousands more have moved to the town of Minova in South Kivu.
Strain on families
The camps for the displaced people are overcrowded while food, water and medicines are running low. Soaring prices of basic commodities at local markets is another problem, aid agencies said.
"This situation is putting an even greater strain on families struggling to put food on their tables", Peter Musoko, the World Food Programme's Country Director and Representative in the DRC told TRT Afrika.
He described the situation in the region as a ''humanitarian catastrophe on a massive scale", adding "humanitarians must act now before the worst happens".
The WFP is appealing for $300 million support while UNICEF is seeking $400 million over the next six months to enable them deal with the humanitarian problems in eastern DRC.
The DRC has one of the biggest internal displacement crises in the world with 6.9 million people forced from their homes due to years of conflicts and natural disasters such as floods.
The UN's migration agency, IOM, estimates that last year alone, 1.6 million people were displaced.
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